In the Darkest Corner
by LucifernSatan
Summary: Thanks to Sora's brother Leon, he's stuck spending his last summer of freedom before college working at a mental institute. What happens when his stubbornness gets the better of him and he's determined to get a certain patient to start talking again.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

The smell of flowers invaded his nose, bright sky blue eyes taking in the rather small looking brick building with surrounding gardens standing in front of him. The large grass lawn was neatly kept; bushes and colorful flower arrangements decorated the lawn, flower beds sat under each window, the boxes painted different colors. To the right of the front entrance was a large cement sign, the gold covered letters reading Miracle Gardens Mental Institute.

"Keep up, Sora."

The brunet frowned, jogging to catch up, "Uh… isn't this place a little small?"

"They're hiring."

"But you just got your masters. There's got to be somewhere bigger… a place with more opportunities?"

"Sora the bigger places want to hire someone with a doctorate."

"But Squally can't you get something better, like your own practice maybe?" Sora whined, running a hand through his already unruly hair.

Squall heaved a sigh, "No. Grads need field experience to write their thesis so they can get their PhD and you need a doctorate to have your own practice. I talked with the owner of this place; she's willing to give me a trial period so she has a chance to see my abilities. _And_ if you ever call me 'Squally' again, I'm going to dangle you off our balcony…" The younger of the two glanced up at the slight pause, "By your ankle."

Sora grinned, "You'd have to catch me first."

Squall made a thoughtful noise as his hand attacked the renegade spikes in a thorough messing. He piloted the shorter boy toward the glass doors, shoving the back of his head lightly. The two entered, eyes taking in the elegantly decorated reception area. Large glass windows made up one wall, allowing light to illuminate the room. Multi-colored chairs lined the two other walls while a white desk sat in the far corner.

The older male made his way over to a young looking brunette girl who sat behind the desk, an overly bright smile on her face, "Hiya!" She chirped, "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm here to see Dr. Gainsborough." Squall frowned at her. He never did like excessively cheery people, though Sora was an exception.

"Name?"

"Squall Leonhart."

Sora stood beside the taller brunette, looking at a beautiful vase of flowers perched beside the computer. He noticed a piece of cardboard folded in half with the name Selphie Tilmitt written in green highlighter, it had been placed at the front of the desk as a makeshift nametag.

"She'll be right out to greet ya, so if you wanna have a seat." Selphie motioned with her hand towards the row of chairs across from her.

Shortly after they took a seat, a tall brunette woman walked into the room and right up to Squall. "Hello, my name Aerith Gainsborough. You must be Squall; it's a pleasure to meet you." She said, thrusting a hand out to him.

"Actually just call me Leon," The brunette male shook her hand then motioned to his side, "And this is Sora."

Aerith smiled sweetly, "It's so nice to meet you Sora. You may call me Aerith."

"Same here." Answering her smile with one of his own.

After a brief conversation the elder two headed off down the hallway just behind the desk. Sora slouched in his seat, blowing a puff of air at a stray bang hanging in his face. Squall had told him before arriving that he'd probably be a while but the seventeen year old was stubborn and didn't want to sit at home alone.

The blue eyed boy was so wrapped up in being bored that he had totally missed what the only other person in the room had said, "Huh?" He stated dumbly.

"I said, 'Are you here for a job too?'"

Shaking his head, "Nah, I just tagged along with my brother."

Selphie pouted slightly, "Aww… that's too bad. We need more cuties like you working here."

The brunette's cheeks tinted a faint pink before he glanced away, waving a hand to dismiss the compliment. Nothing more was said between them and Sora lost himself to his thoughts while he waited.

0o0o0o0

"… and I completely understand. I don't wish to pry any further but from what you've already told me, you seem to be in desperate need of work."

Squall sighed, long hair swishing as he nodded, "Yes, I am."

"As I said over the phone I am willing to hire you on a probationary period and if I feel you are capable of doing the job I will give you a position here. You have one month."

Sighing, the brunette male got up from his seat, "Thank you for this opportunity."

"One more thing before you go…" Aerith paused, her green eyes scanning the papers in front of her. Squall glanced down, acknowledging her with a quiet grunt. "How old is Sora?"

"Seventeen, why?"

A sweet looking smile appeared on her face, "I was just wondering what his plans are for the summer."

0o0o0o0

Sora jumped out of his seat, rushing to catch up with his brother's long strides. He caught the glass door as Squall pushed it almost forcefully open and followed him into the parking lot.

"Squally! Wait up!"

Steel grey eyes glared back, "I'm warning you Sora, when we get home…"

"You'll what, Squally?" The younger brunette said puffing his cheeks out.

An arm wrapped around his neck before he could even blink, pulling him into a vicious noogie. Sora yelped, hands reaching up to save his poor scalp, "Ack Squall… stop! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He shouted as he squirmed in the older male's arms.

Squall released him and gave one last glare in his brother's direction before turning back to the car. He unlocked the doors, Sora slamming his shut once he was comfortable.

"Must you _always_ do that?"

The smaller boy waved a hand, "Yeah whatever. Tell me what she said."

"I've got a month to prove myself. We start tomorrow."

"That's awesome!" Sora cheered before the words completely registered, "Wait… what?"

An evil glint entered the steel colored eyes, "I said 'We start tomorrow'."

"What do you mean 'we'? Squall you _know_ this is my last summer before university! I wanted to spend it with my friends!" The blue eyed boy whined.

"We both know that wasn't possible Sora, besides we need the money. We can't afford to live, pay off my schooling and yours on just my salary." He frowned slightly at the large pout on the other boy's face, "It's a good paying job, I couldn't turn her down."

"It wasn't your choice to make." Sora huffed, cranking his head to look out the window.

Squall didn't respond deciding it's better to let him cool off a bit so they can discuss it like mature adults. Otherwise their conversation will consist of bad name calling, mostly on Sora's part. The long haired brunette started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot.

He sighed loudly at the sulking boy next to him, "Would ice cream make you feel better?"

"Maybe," Part of a pouty face could be seen through the reflection of the window, "But I get whatever I want."

"Fine, but you're going to work tomorrow."

Sora's lips twitched upward in a half smile, "Okay."

0o0o0o0

A solitary figure stood surrounded by darkness, bathed in a single spotlight. A feminine voice drifted through the emptiness.

'_Why?'_ Her voice, a soft whisper in his ear.

"… I don't know."

_'I loved you long before I ever saw you.'_

His form shuddered as he collapsed to his knees, "Please… I'm sorry…"

_'How could you?'_

"It was an accident!"

_'You're a murderer.'_ Her soft voice became harsh.

His hands reached up to cover his ears, "Just stop… I didn't mean-"

_'Murderer!'_

"No!"

0o0o0o0

Squall burst into the screaming teen's room to find the boy sitting straight up, stark white with tears streaming down his cheeks. His hands fisted tightly into the sheets as if trying to ground himself in reality. The older brother slipped into the room, all the way to the bed and pulled the other into a tight embrace. They rocked slightly, the only sounds being the comforting words from Squall and the quiet sobs from Sora.

"I had that dream again." He spoke as soon as his breathing had evened out enough to speak coherently.

Squall knew exactly what the other was talking about. It had occurred many times before. The older brunette didn't speak only continued to rock the both of them.

Sora pulled back just enough to see his brother through the darkness, "Squall, are you sure I should be working there?" He sniffed as his hand reached up to wipe carelessly at an eye, "I mean I'm not qualified or anything and really I'm not even sure I'm all that sane either."

"Of course you're sane, don't be an idiot." A rare smile spread across his face, "Dr. Gainsborough said that you don't need any experience and I know for a fact that you're perfect for the position."

"Why's that?"

Gun metal grey met sky blue and that reassuring smile returned as well, "Because you know how to make people happy with just a smile. I think you're going to help those people a lot, I mean you're better with people then I am and I went to school for psychology."

Sora smiled back, throwing his arms around his brother, "Thanks Squally."

The older male hugged back, ignoring the nickname _this_ time.

0o0o0o0

So when Sora walked through those glass doors the next morning, he wasn't nearly as nervous as he thought he would be. He followed Squall past the desk and into the hallway he and Aerith had disappeared down yesterday. Selphie gave the two a quick 'hi' and a little wave as they passed, Sora grinning, waved back.

At the end of the hall was another door, only this one seemed sturdier with a large glass window in the top half. There was a security system connected to the door, a card scanner placed next to the handle. The older male slipped a card out of his pocket, flicking it over the reader. The small blinking red light flashed green and a buzzer sounded allowing the two entry. On the other side of the door, Sora was curious and wanted to go check out the new area. He refrained from scurrying off but his eyes took in all that they could see.

To his right were two doors, one with the name 'Dr. Aerith Gainsborough' etched into the wood while the other was blank. Straight ahead at the end of the hall was another door, mostly open, the word 'office' on the front. From what he could see, the inside was plain; a table with chairs, a counter, appliances strewn across the top and cabinets. A row of lockers stood at the back of the room and he could see that further into the room was some kind of shower area. Next to that was a nurse's station, completely enclosed by wood on the bottom, glass and windows on the top. Sora could see the desk snaked all the way around the inside leaving only the door open, papers and clip boards littered the surface and two chairs were crammed in what small area was left. Notices were taped to the inside of the glass, letting the patients and employees know events and whatnot. Right across the hall were the phones. Three booth like wooden areas sat against the wall, he couldn't see inside the booths but Sora could only guess there were seats and the phones, of course.

A tug on his sleeve turned his attention back to the door with Aerith's name on it which had opened and was waiting for him to enter. Once seated, Sora took the time to look at the rich mahogany desk and bookshelf. A file cabinet sat just off to the side of the desk, a little darker grey in color from normal ones but matching the wood nicely. The shelves were over flowing with books, almost all about psychology and the human psyche. The desk was neat with a lamp on one edge and a tray on the other, a few folders lay open in the middle.

Dr. Gainsborough sat behind the desk, a warm smile on her face. She was speaking to Squall about his duties when a knock on the door silenced the conversation, "Come in." She said sweetly.

A blonde haired youth poked his head in, "You called for me?" He asked, glancing around with dark sapphire eyes.

"Yes Roxas come in," Aerith stood from her chair, "I would like you to meet Dr. Squall Leonhart. He will be the new psychiatrist."

"Hello Doctor." Roxas held a hand out to the brunette.

Lips turned slightly down as he shook the shorter boy's hand, "It's just Leon."

Motioning with her hand, Aerith pointed to the other brunette, "And this is Sora, he's our new orderly. I would like you to show him around and let him know all his duties."

Sora let a lopsided grin hang on his face, "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Yeah… same here. Come on the lockers are this way."

The two teens left Aerith's office and straight into the room with the lockers. Upon closer inspection, there were indeed showers further into the room and slightly off to the side. Roxas pointed to a few empty lockers telling him to pick one. Sora picked one of the top ones, quickly slipping off his jacket and pulling on a white smock looking thing that all the employees wore.

The blonde told him the rules about being late, without proper attire, and so on. He spoke briefly on certain unpleasant duties, none of which Sora was willing to mention again or do if at all possible. Roxas then led him down the hall, "And this is the nurse's station."

A surprisingly familiar looking blonde girl sat inside, Sora was shocked to see such a resemblance between the two in front of him. He stood gaping while Roxas and said girl smiled at each other.

"Namine this is Sora." The blonde male smirked, glancing at the brunette, "Sora this is Namine… my twin sister."

"Hello Sora." Her shy voice was heard through the window.

Realization struck him when Roxas' words sunk in; his smile faded for a moment, "Oh that explains the resemblance! It's nice to meet you Namine."

"She's one of the nurses that hands out the meds and handle phone calls between the patients and their families. Any calls to the phones over there have to be approved by the nurse on duty."

"There is a phone in the employee office if you ever need to use it." Namine added to her brother's speech.

Blue eyes followed the blonde's hand to the wooden booths and back, nodding as he went, "Good to know."

"This way Sora, I'll show you the cafeteria next." Roxas said waving to the girl behind the glass, "When I'm done showing him around we'll come back and talk for a bit."

Namine waved them off as the boys continued down the hall toward double doors on the left. The word 'Cafeteria' was printed on a metal plate above the doors. Sora took a moment to take in the huge room; large tables with benches were positioned throughout the room. On the far side was a long counter with trays at one end and a cooler with drinks at the other. As they walked passed a few tables toward the doors on the other side, the brunette noticed that there was someone behind the counter. A tall man with dirty blonde hair had his back to the two boys but turned at Roxas' voice.

"Yo Cid! New guy," Roxas yelled, pointing at said new guy, "Sora."

The man turned, his pale blue eyes locked directly onto Sora, "Well I'll be Boss Lady finally hired some more worker ants for this joint."

Sora watched as a toothpick bobbed up and down as the man spoke, "Hi." His voice echoing through the empty area.

"Name's Cid, I'm the cook here. Don't like my cooking you can damn well starve."

Sky blue orbs glanced from the scruffy looking man to the blonde next to him, "Do you always scream at him from across the room?" Sora whispered.

"Yeah, it's easier for the deaf old coot to hear that way."

"I heard that, ya little bastards!" Cid shouted shaking a fist, "Get the hell outta my kitchen!"

Roxas bolted through the doors, Sora in tow, both laughing loudly. They slowed to a walk as the two entered another room, this one was brightly decorated, the walls painted a warm orange. A couple of bookshelves stood in the corner across from the door, tons of books, games and puzzles filled the shelves. A small round table with four chairs sat between them, a half finished puzzle spread across its surface. Further in the room was a fairly large TV, movies cases strewn in front of it. A well worn brown couch was positioned in the middle of the room.

Sora noticed a few tuffs of red hair sticking out over the top and wondered who it could be. A glance to Roxas proved he wasn't going to say anything, the blonde just motioned for him to follow. They silently passed behind the couch and were almost out the other door when a loud bang was heard. Sora saw a flash of red and black before he heard a cry from Roxas. Rubbing his eyes quickly, the brunette realized the blur of color was really a person moving at high speed. He also realized that the person had latched onto his tour guide and was spinning him around wildly, Roxas demanding to be put down.

An instant later, Sora was doubled over in laughter unable to hold it back any longer, just the sight of the blonde being spun around, yelling at the taller red head was too much for Sora. The two stop at the sound of laughter, both sets of eyes locked onto the brunette, a green pair amused and a blue pair glaring.

"What the hell is so funny?"

Choking on a laugh, "No-nothing." He straightened slightly.

"Whoa, Roxie who's the newbie?" The unknown person asked as he smirked at Sora.

"It's _Roxas_!" He hissed, glaring down, "That's Sora; _now_ _put me down_ _Axel_!" Said redhead dropped the blonde back to his feet, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hi." The blue eyed brunette smiled as he waved.

Grinning brightly, Axel circled Sora glancing at him up and down. The brunette squirmed under the intense gaze.

"He's a cutie Roxie, where'd you find this one?"

Sora's sky blue orbs widened in embarrassment cheeks tinting a dark shade of red and when Axel saw this, his eyes glinted with mischief. Roxas, on the other hand, was watching the redhead and elbowed him in the ribs before he could humiliate the poor boy further.

"Knock it off! God Axel, leave the guy alone!"

Emerald spheres looked at the blonde, "Aww… don't worry Roxie. You know I only have eyes for you." He cooed, smirking.

Growling lowly, Roxas rolled his eyes and grabbed Sora's wrist, dragging him from the room. The brunette glanced back to see the other fall over the couch in a fit of hysterics. His wrist was yanked harder and he was pulled from the entrance.

"Ignore him." The blonde hissed. The statement sounding very much like a command to Sora's ears.

Retrieving his hand from Roxas' death grip, he decided to speak, "Who was _that_?"

"That was Axel, a patient here." Sighing once, he continued, "He's a pyro. Despite how 'normal' and I use the term loosely, he seems to be; the way he talks he needs to be in here."

"You mean the stuff just now?"

"Nah, that shit he says to annoy me. He doesn't just like to burn stuff, the guy really thinks he can control fire."

Sora stared wide eyed, "Control?"

"Yeah says he can manipulate the element or something. He uses 'It got too big to control' as his excuse when he burnt down his last two apartments and a school. Shortly after that someone brought him here."

The brunette made an 'o' with his mouth, rushing to match his steps with the blonde's. A short ways down the hall was a glass door leading outside, a keycard reader next to it. Sora stopped in front of the door, light blue eyes staring through the glass. A few trees were spread elegantly thorough out the area, sun peeking around the leaves. Lush grass covered the ground with brightly colored flowers and manicured bushes nicely placed around the edges.

Roxas turned back when he realized his companion wasn't at his side. When the blonde arrived beside him, Sora pointed, asking, "What's through there?"

"That's the garden. Aerith made it so the patients have a nice place to be when they go outside."

The brunette tilted his head slightly, "Oh, it's beautiful."

"Yeah, she should have been a botanist or something like that," Roxas continued down the hallway, leaving Sora to catch up, "A patient needs permission to go outside and they need to be supervised while they're out there, hence the locked door. You need to check the patient off on the clipboard in the nurse's station, if their name isn't on the list they can't go outside. Their doctor decides that so don't ask…"

The two rounded the corner, bright blue eyes staring down the hall. Doors lined both sides and stepping closer to the door straight ahead, he could see a rectangular metal plate beside the door. 'Cloud Strife' was the name printed on it. Sora glanced through the open door, a blonde, older than him and Roxas sat on the bed; his blue green eyes stared off into space as he rocked slightly.

Taking a step into the room, Roxas held up his hand, waving a bit, "Cloud… Cloud this is Sora. He's going to be working here."

The rocking stopped as those eyes gazed up. He didn't speak only gave off a look of complete confusion, glancing between the two standing in the doorway.

The brunette felt a nudge to the ribs, "Say hi." Was whispered next. Sora looked to Roxas before turning back to Cloud, "Uh… Hi Cloud."

Cloud watched them a moment longer before dropping his gaze back down and started rocking again. Blue met blue as the two teens glanced to each other; Roxas shrugged leaving the room to continue with the tour.

Sora followed closely, glancing from side to side trying to read all the names. They were half way down the hall when the brunette finally gave into his curiosity, "So… um... about Cloud…" He trailed off; he didn't want to make it sound like the guy was defective or anything.

"He's schizophrenic."

"Oh."

"It's a long story, one I don't really want to talk about…" The blonde sighed heavily, "But the gist is he was in a car accident, he survived but was in a coma for two weeks and when he woke up he thought he was some else."

The teen directed his attention to his feet, a sad look on his features, "That's horrible! How di-" Sora started but the tone in which Roxas spoke changed his mind.

Roxas stopped at the end of the hall, turning to speak but the brunette hadn't been paying attention and ended up crashing into him. The blonde stumbled back a few steps but Sora had been sent flying to the floor.

Sapphire orbs stared at the sprawled figure, an obvious smirk on his face, "A little clumsy are we?"

Sora glanced up, his bottom lip protruding out in a prominent pout, "It's not my fault! You stopped without warning!"

"Uh huh… yeah… okay." Roxas snorted out a laugh as he reached down to help his new co-worker up. Once Sora was back on his feet the blonde continued, "As I was about to say, that door there is the solitary confinement. Any patient acting out violently against us or another patient is placed here and sedated until they're calm enough to come out." Pointing at a door hidden slightly by the wall.

Sora spun around to leave, rotating almost face first into the wall. He opened his blue eyes after having closed them instinctually and staring back at him wasn't the white of the wall but a small gold colored plate, a name engraved on it. The brunette took a step back and turned to look through the small window within each door, a safety precaution he assumed. The unknown patient inside was sitting on the bed legs crossed, hunched over what appeared to be a sketch book. Shoulder length sliver tresses cascaded down around the book, completely covering his face, eyes and most of what the boy was drawing.

Roxas, who had been half way down the hall again before realizing he was alone, twisted around, "Hey Sora, what's the hold up?"

"What about him?"

"What _about_ him?"

The brunette frowned slightly, "Well you introduced me to every other patient that was in their room, why not him?"

"He's a special case, it's not like I purposely forgot him or anything. Even if I did introduce you it wouldn't matter, he hasn't spoken a word to anyone since he was eight."

"Eight years old?" Sora's bright blue spheres grew wide, "And how old is he now?"

"Eighteen."

The brunette couldn't help but choke on his air. The guy hadn't spoken in ten years and he was already a year older then Sora. The teen couldn't image going ten minutes without talking let alone ten _years_.

Glancing back in the room, he made a decision, "I want to meet him anyway."

The boy's statement was unexpected by the blonde standing next to him, "What?"

"I said 'I want to meet him'." And with that, the brunette threw the door open, waltzing right into the room.

The occupant of the room jumped a good foot in the air, knocking his sketch book to the floor in his attempt to get as close to the wall as possible. Sora stepped closer, trying to get a better look at the teen's face only to find it completely covered by his silvery locks. The more he moved toward the bed, the more the other seemed to try to blend with the wall.

The brunette stopped at the edge of the bed, reaching down to pick up the abandoned book. It lay open on the page the boy had been working on, a sunset, the ocean racing into the distance with a small island in the foreground. The picture was beautiful and made Sora want to look through the rest of it.

Resisting the urge, he stood again and placed the book next to the silver haired patient on the bed, "Here, you dropped this," He paused and when no response came he continued, "My name is Sora and I just started here," Another pause, "And well… er… I'm sorry for barging in like that but I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi… I guess I'll leave you be then." Sora turned back toward Roxas and the door but glancing over his shoulder he added, "I really like your art; maybe sometime you could show me the rest."

The brunette sighed when the boy didn't even look up at him and turning back the two left, closing the door behind them. If either teen had looked back before closing the door they would have noticed a pair of bright turquoise spheres watching a certain brunette intently.


	2. Chapter 2

Apply the usual warnings and disclaimers here.

* * *

Things went fairly smoothly for Sora in the weeks that passed. He had gotten his own key card with his name and picture on it and, to Leon's dismay, had begun to pretend he was a spy, jumping around corners singing 'Secret Agent Man' or in some cases humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme song when, he claimed, the time called for it.

He hasn't seen Dr. Gainsborough since his first day of work, Roxas had said she's really busy and is hardly ever seen out and about. The brunette had seen Selphie only slightly more than that and that's only because the girl works the front desk and doesn't ever interact with the patients though he does hear her voice ringing through the speakers every time there's an announcement. Sora had started coming in a little early so he has time to chat with the hyper girl before his shift starts.

His second encounter with Cid was a bit better and that was only due to the fact that there was a three person buffer between them. Those three people were the rest of the kitchen staff, Hayner, Pence and Olette. Sora thought they were nice enough though Hayner left something to be desired. The three had started together and now they were almost joined at the hip. Their job was a fairly simple one, bring the patients to the cafeteria, hand out the food and make sure everyone eats though it seemed that Olette was the only one working the 'make sure everyone eats' part of their job. And Sora couldn't blame the two for not wanting to do that part, it was disgusting just watching the girl practically force feed a grown person. He also couldn't blame said person for not wanting to eat the food. Cid's cooking wasn't bad per say, it was more the fact it was a grease factory. Everything the man made was fried up and even the worse fast food joints were nothing compared to his. If it weren't for Pence and Olette making salads and other healthier things, the patients would get nothing but greasy burgers and become a good three hundred pounds in the process.

The brunette loved talking to Namine. She was smart, sweet, a little on the quiet side but amazing none the less. They would chat it up whenever they got the chance. It was also in that first week that Sora found out that Namine only worked part time as she was taking summer classes in university to become a registered nurse. He quickly started to miss the blonde the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday's she was gone. Though most would say it was because of her replacement that Sora was so eager to get his friend back.

Kairi was the red haired girl's name and he realized at their first meeting that she wasn't his favorite person. It wasn't that she was mean or anything like that, she was a sweet girl who loved to talk but she was a flirt and had to hang off your arm whenever you were within reach. Roxas had told him that she makes a pass at every guy that comes into the building, she had even hit on the blonde when he had first started but he had quickly (and quite rudely in his sister's opinion) told her to buzz off. Sora wasn't rude enough to tell her to go away but he did avoid her when possible. The blonde boy had also mentioned that the red head had a thing for brunettes and that was the main reason she wouldn't leave him alone.

In the days that followed, Sora also got to know a lot of the patients better, some more then he really wanted to. He and Axel were on speaking terms even though Roxas had advised against it and the brunette was starting to wonder if maybe he should have taken the advice after all. The red head had begun to glomp him in the same fashion as Roxas, twirling him around and cooing about how adorable he was. Unlike with the blonde, Sora could never get Axel to put him down again; he would just make an 'aww' sound and rub his face into the brunette. It took a third person, normally Roxas, to get Sora away from the red haired male.

He had also found out more about Cloud, through Leon, who had become the man's doctor. After nagging his brother to death, Leon finally agreed to tell him the whole story. The car accident that Roxas had briefly mentioned sounded ten times worse when Leon explained exactly what happened. Cloud and his best friend, Zack, were driving through an intersection when a speeding truck ran the red light. It hit the car on the driver's side, killing Zack instantly. The airbag on Cloud's side never deployed during the impact, causing the blonde's head to collide with the dash. The paramedics had thought nobody could have survived something so devastating but when they finally reached Cloud, they found out they were wrong. He was alive but in a coma. When he did eventually wake up, two weeks later, his friends and family were shocked to find that it wasn't Cloud that survived but Zack or at least that was what the blonde was saying. The once quiet Cloud had become his loud and entertaining dark haired friend. At first nobody thought too much on it, thinking that this was just how the blonde was coping but after he was released from the hospital, Cloud tried to live his dead friend's life. He wanted to live in his friend's house, go to his job and date his girlfriend. After a much needed talk with his own parents, the blonde started mumbling to himself and if you listened closely it wasn't just random talking, it was a two sided conversation, one being Cloud, the other Zack. His family didn't take him to an institute until the day his mother walked in on Cloud jacking off and moaning his best friend's name while at the same time Zack saying some not mother friendly things back.

Since starting at the institute Sora found Roxas and of course Leon to be the only constant faces he sees. Aerith had decided early on that the two boys would have the same shifts so he had someone he was comfortable with but would also help him out when need be. They became quick friends and got along great; the two were exact opposites but complimented each other perfectly, almost as if they were two sides of the same coin. What shocked Sora the most about his new friend was when he caught the blonde in Cloud's room, it wasn't the fact that Roxas was talking to the patient or even the fact that Cloud was talking back (though that was pretty shocking), it was what his co-worker was saying that blew the teen's mind. Roxas had used the term 'brother' multiple times when addressing the older male. At first Sora thought that maybe he had heard wrong but when Roxas was called to the front desk later that day, they had said 'Roxas Strife' meaning that no he hadn't heard wrong and that everything made sense when concerning his friend's reluctance to talk further about Cloud's condition. Sora never told the other straight out that he knew but let him know in his own way that he did and was always there if he needed someone to talk to.

The one person that Sora couldn't get a handle on was the one person that he really wanted to. The plate by the door had said 'Riku Misaki' and he had stopped by several times since his first encounter but the results had been the same, the boy just wouldn't speak. The brunette had found out that Leon was also his doctor and after grilling him for information finally got the teen's story… well most of it. According to his brother, nobody really knew everything that had happened but what they did know was that Riku's best friend had killed himself in front of the silver haired boy at the age of seven. They never found out what went on between the two before the death and Riku refused to say anything, far too traumatized to recall what happened. Shortly after the incident, the silverette began to shy away from people he didn't know and slowly but surely from the people he did know. His parents eventually took him to see a doctor and they were told he had developed a condition called 'Avoidant Personality Disorder'. The condition was characterized as someone with extreme shyness, feelings of inadequacy and sensitivity to rejection. The feelings of loss and/or rejection may be so painful that they will choose loneliness rather than risk trying to connect with others. Normally individuals with the disorder have a few close friends that they are very dependent on but by the time his parents had gotten the diagnosis, Riku was so far into his shell that he had stopped talking to everyone including his own parents. When he was eight the boy's parents finally put him in an institute and after six different placements, they finally found a permanent resident's at Miracle Gardens.

0o0o0o0

Sora's day had started out normally enough, Leon pounding on his door until he got fed up and burst into the younger's room, forcefully dragging him out of bed. After his shower, the brunette became his little ball of energy again, bouncing around with his key card, excited about the new day.

It wasn't until half way through his shift, when him and Roxas were heading down the hallway of patient bedrooms did things take an unusual turn. They were nearing the end of the hall when they heard a scream and a loud voice yell, 'Get your hands off me!'

Sora was shocked when he realized the ruckus was coming from Riku's room and reaching the entrance he froze. On the floor by the door was a girl with short black hair mumbling curses about not being allowed to do things like this to a ninja. Roxas quickly made his way to her side, asking what happened and if she was alright. The brunette on the other hand was transfixed on the scene in front of him, on the bed was Riku being held up by the collar of his shirt. He was mostly on his knees, arms hanging limply at his sides with his head slumped forward, long silver strands covering his face.

The person who had Riku by the throat was tall, well taller than Sora which really isn't saying all that much, with blonde hair, most of it covered by a black beanie. He was yelling at the silverette, putting him down, taunting him to retaliate and pretty much scaring the crap out of Sora. It wasn't until a fist was raise at Riku's face did Sora take action, rushing toward the two and taking a hold of the obviously older male's arm. All the while his mind was screaming at him to release the large arm and step away before he became a puddle of crushed bones on the floor but of course when did Sora ever take advice from his own mind.

Standing his ground, he spoke, his voice a little shakier then he would have liked, "Stop it! Put him down!"

The brunette nearly squeaked when electric blue eyes turned their glare on him. Fighting the urge to flinch at the look, he kept his face stern unwilling to let this bully pick on the other patients, this was part of his job after all. The unknown male glared a moment longer before dropping his hostage back on the bed. Riku landed on his hands and knees, keeping his head down. Sora's hands released their hold as the tall blonde turned his body fully to face him and closing his blue orbs automatically, waited for the harsh grab or painful punch but all he felt was a heavy hand on his shoulder. Snapping his eyes open, looked up as the other moved around him.

"I like you kid, you've got guts. The name's Seifer and don't you forget it 'cause the next time you touch me I won't let you get away so easily." With that said, Seifer made his way out of the room.

Sora turned just in time to catch him heading around the corner with the girl named Yuffie screaming behind him. Roxas rushed to the door, stopping to peek out before leaning himself against the door frame. The brunette's body trembled as his brain caught up with what happened. Sighing deeply, he collapsed on the bed, his hands gripping his pants to keep them from shaking. Sora's mind began screaming again about how stupid he was for jumping in the middle like that but how lucky he was to be walking away without a scratch.

The room was silent, all three lost in their own thoughts and it wasn't until Sora felt a tug on his brown spikes did he turn. The sight seemed to stop time; stunning spheres of turquoise stared back at him and it took the brunette a moment to realize these were the eyes he's been trying to see since he began working here all those weeks ago. He held his breath, afraid to move anything in case it scared the silverette away, sky blue irises watching intently as the other studied him. Riku's eyes glanced up to look at the chunk of hair he held between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it gently before darting back to stare into pools of bright blue. Sora's breath hitched when a sincere smile spread across pale lips and realizing what it meant, smiled back, mouthing the words 'Your welcome.'

They sat like that a bit longer then without warning the silverette moved back to the far corner of his bed. Sora was left to stare at Riku's curled up form, knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around them though the brunette could still see the bright turquoise watching him through those long silvery bangs.

0o0o0

After the two had left Riku's room was when the chaos started. Roxas practically dragged Sora all the way to Dr. Gainsborough's office, where he now sat, his head spinning. The blonde had almost broken down the door in his excitement, barely noticing the disapproving look he received from his boss and immediately went on to tell her what happened. By the end of the story, Aerith and Leon, who had been called in the moment his patient was mentioned, sat gaping at Sora.

"So why is this a big deal?" The brunette still didn't understand what was so exciting; it wasn't like the guy spoke to him or something.

Roxas only slapped his forehead in irritation while his brother sighed and shook his head.

"Try to understand Sora. Riku hasn't tried to communicate with anyone for years. This could be a turning point for him, like he's wants to get better now." Aerith spoke softly; she didn't want to offend the boy.

"He was just thanking me for helping him."

The brunette woman sighed tiredly, "There's more to it than that. This wasn't the first time this has happened. Seifer has problems controlling his anger…" The blonde's comment of 'No shit.' went ignored, "and ever since Riku came to this facility, Seifer has made it his personal mission to torment the poor boy until one of them leaves."

"I remember the first time Seifer went after Riku. Riku fought back when his shirt was grabbed and nearly had his wrist broken." Roxas added in.

"Yes, that was also the last time Riku left his room willingly-"

"Like when Hayner and I had to drag him to the cafeteria that evening. He bit Hayner good and man I thought that was going to scar."

"_Thank you Roxas_," Aerith's scolding mother tone caused the blonde to look at her before mumbling a soft apology. Clearing her throat, she knelt in front of the young brunette, "What I'm trying to say is that when Riku made eye contact with you, when he smiled at you, he was reaching out and _that_ is a big deal."

Bright blue eyes stared unblinking, a quiet 'Oh.' his only response.

Smiling, Dr. Gainsborough stood from her crouched position, "That's why I've decided to put you in charge of his personal care."

"What?!" Three different voices chorused.

"But-but I can't do that!" Sora squeaked.

Leon nodded, "Sora's right. He's not qualified for something like that."

"I just mean he will spend time with Riku and talk to him, try to get him to open up," Aerith stepped around her desk and taking a seat began rifling through files until she found the one she was looking for, "Riku doesn't get enough human contact as it is and if he's going to reach out to Sora then I'm going to give them as much time together as I can." The green eyed woman paused to write something in the file before continuing, "From now on Riku will be Sora's only patient."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the second installment ;) Don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing but the one very unusual insult.

* * *

"Squall… you awake?" Sora whispered into the dark room, continuing in when he heard a small grunt from the heap in the corner. He climbed onto the bed, kneeling next to his brother, "I can't sleep."

Rolling onto his back, Leon reached a hand up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "I noticed," He could practically see the pout forming on the younger boy's face even though his eyes were still closed, a hint of a smile crossing his own features as he spoke, "And why's that?"

Sora frowned, "Its Riku… I mean what if I can't do it."

Sighing, Leon sat up, "Just try your best and you'll do fine. Aerith has confidence in you, Roxas believes in you too," He placed his hands on the smaller brunette's shoulders, "And I _know_ you can do it."

"But what if I screw up… what if I can't help him or if I make him worse!" Sora grabbed at his hair, shaking his head as he spoke, "It'll be all _my_ fault… then I'll have ruined even more lives!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks now, his breathing choked as sobs shook his body.

The elder male's grip tightened on his brother, "Sora!" Said boy flinching at the harsh tone, "What happened wasn't your fault-"

"She _died_ Squall! She died because of me…" Blue eyes closed, trying to shut out the voice that plagued his mind, "And-and dad…"

"Don't!" He pulled the crying boy into his arms, "Just don't, Sora. He's gone; don't let his words torment you. Nothing could have changed what happened and it wasn't your fault so stop blaming yourself."

They sat in silence, Sora gripping tightly to his brother as he rocked them. When they were young, Leon had done this every time the younger boy was upset to calm him down. Even now that Sora was practically an adult; he still needed his brother to comfort him this way.

Sora's voice was gentle, almost subdued when he spoke next, "Do you… resent me? Blame me like dad does?" He wiped a hand over his watery blue eyes as he tried to stop his tears.

"I don't resent you. That bastard of a man left us; he's to blame for everything." Steel grey eyes were glaring at a spot on the wall, his angry tone dissolving into something softer, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Why don't you go back to bed, we have work in the morning."

The smaller boy crawled off the bed, his chocolate spikes bouncing as he nodded slightly. A yawn escaping as he spoke, "Goodnight Squall… and thanks." There was no reply by the time Sora closed the door but the small smile he saw on his brother's face was all he needed.

0o0o0o0

"Sora!"

The brunette had just stepped into the staff room and spinning towards the voice, he saw nothing but a blur of pinkish red as it collided against his chest. If not for Roxas walking in behind him, Sora would have landed in a heap on the floor. Hayner and Olette sat at the table in the corner, both snickering at the scene.

"I heard about what happened with Seifer, you're so brave protecting Riku like that!" The mass continued as it squeezed the air out of his lungs.

Roxas rolled his eyes, taking a seat beside Hayner, "Geez Kairi, don't kill the guy."

Sticking her tongue out at the blonde, she glared angrily. While Kairi was distracted, Sora was struggling to get away from the tight grip the red head had on him. Once free, he quickly jumped into the chair between Roxas and Olette and breathing a silent sigh of relief, the brunette slouched further down in his seat.

"Oh hey Sora, I've got a question for you," Hayner said, gaining everyone's attention, "What's your brother's problem?"

Smirking slightly, "He has lots; you're going to have to be a little more specific."

"I mean the whole name thing… your last name is Leonhart right?" A nod here, "And his first name is Squall right?" Another nod, "So why does he want everyone to call him Leon?"

Sora dropped his gaze to the table, his fingers mindlessly scratching at the surface, "It's complicated…" He took a deep breath before continuing, "My brother's named after our father and Squall doesn't get along with him anymore and-"

"Ahem."

Sora didn't need to look up to know who was behind him; the blue eyed teen knew that sound anywhere.

The brunette's stoic brother towered over the table, arms crossed with his ever present frown in place, "It's time to start."

There was a mix of mumbled apologies and agreements as the group of teens stood from the table and shuffled out of the room. Sora waited until everybody had left before standing to face his brother. He glanced up slowly to see a small reassuring, if not very Squall-ish, smile and grinning a bit lopsidedly back headed for the door.

"Oh and Sora… when we get home tonight you're going to have to fill me in on all the problems you have with me."

The shorter boy silently grimaced, rushing through the door to safety before his 'loving' brother decided to change his mind and have their little discussion that moment.

0o0o0o0

Roxas had been waiting for him at the nurse's station and they were now heading down the bedroom hallway, aptly named by Sora as it was literally a hallway of bedrooms. Hayner had said it was an uncreative name and to try and use his imagination the next time. The blue eyed brunette had pouted for an hour before telling the blonde that it was an awesome name and he was a pooy dumbbell for thinking otherwise. Roxas had laughed at the ridiculousness, shaking his head at them both.

The two were silent, listening to some of the louder patients as they pasted their rooms. Glancing over, this was the first time in a while that Sora was alone with the blonde and since the whole Riku thing a couple days ago, he hasn't had any time to himself, let alone with anyone other than the silver haired patient.

Clearing his throat, blue eyes looked back to the person walking beside him, "So… how's Cloud?" A touchy subject when concerning Roxas but the brunette was curious to know how his friend's brother was fairing.

"He's good… a lot better actually," Roxas started, a small smile traced his mouth as he spoke, "Leon's a big help. I don't know what it is but Cloud has been responding well in his sessions."

"One thing's for sure, my brother doesn't do anything half-assed. Squall will take good care of Cloud or he'll have to deal with me." Sora stated, jutting his thumb into his chest.

Laughing loudly, "He has to 'deal' with you constantly; don't you have anything that might actually threaten him?" He said, hands doing air quotations and causing the other to pout. Nothing more was said when a voice screamed behind them.

"Roxie!" And before said person could run for his life, he was lifted into the air and spun around.

Sora jumped back to avoid being hit by Roxas' wayward feet, knowing who it was even before he saw that bright red hair. It would seem they both had clingy red heads to deal with. Tip toeing quickly down the hall, the brunette could still make out the sounds of Axel laughing while Roxas yelled at him.

Finally arriving at his destination, Sora stopped in front of the door, suddenly feeling nervous. Once, it only happened that one time and since then Riku hadn't reached out to him. Sky blue irises gazed through the window in the door, seeing the silver haired patient lying on the bed. He was on his stomach; his feet by the headboard were bent at the knees and swaying gently. Mysterious turquoise eyes studied the open sketch book as his hand moved across the page. Silver locks flowed over his shoulder, the tips brushing against the sheets, obscuring most of the teen's face and what was on the paper.

The brunette watched Riku with interest, a sad shimmer in his eyes. Alone in his room was the only time the slightly older boy seemed to act like the teenager he was, when he thought no one was watching. _What a lonely existence…_ Sora thought with a depressing sigh as his hand continued to hover over the handle. After a moment that hand jerked away, remembering how scared the silverette had been the first time he burst into the boy's room and knocking lightly, he entered.

Bright blue orbs scanned the small cell like room. There was a window across from the door and covering the window was a mesh like metal to prevent the patients from breaking the glass but allowed them to see out. Riku's window faced the garden. The bed was positioned with the headboard under the window, giving Riku easy access to look outside. A small side table sat beside the bed with only a lamp on its surface. At the foot of the bed was a desk and chair, a few books neatly sorted near the back.

Roaming eyes landed back on Riku, his legs had stilled and the hand pausing in its movements. That was the only way Sora could tell that the aqua eyed boy had heard him come in. There was no hello, not even a glance up and the brunette figured the only reason he hadn't retreated yet was he somehow knew that it was him and that was because Sora had taken to visiting the silver haired boy every day.

Closing the door behind him, the orderly took a step forward, "Hey Riku… how are you today?" No response, "I'm good. I talked to Roxas for a bit today and he said Cloud's doing better, isn't that great news?" Again no response but the brunette was used to this, it did happen every time.

As he spoke, he slowly made his way toward the bed and the closer he got, the more the other would inch away. Eventually Riku would withdraw to the far corner of his bed, Sora knew this and every time it would upset him. It felt like the other was rejecting him and he didn't like that feeling. Sora was an emotional person and he had a hard time with rejection, even though the blue eyed boy knew that it wasn't personal, that Riku did this with everyone.

Stopping at the edge of the bed, Sora watched as his patient crawled across the sheets, almost cowering beside the wall, his drawing all but forgotten. The brunette sighed miserably, sliding down to the floor and leaning his back against the bed. This wasn't working, nothing he tried worked and Sora was getting tired and frustrated with the whole thing. Why did Dr. Gainsborough pick him for this? It's not like he knew what he was doing…

His thoughts were interrupted by a squeaky bed spring and turning his head was met with bright turquoise. Realizing he was caught, Riku jumped back slightly, his ocean colored eyes glancing over to the sketch book. Following his gaze, Sora noticed what the other was after. The brunette didn't move, only watching as the silver haired boy plucked it up and began flipping quickly through the pages. Finding what he was looking for, Riku cautiously slid the book across the bed, leaving it in front of Sora's nose. After facing the bed completely, sky blue eyes looked over the open page. It was a drawing of a young boy, maybe six or seven. It was no one he immediately recognized yet he seemed slightly familiar. The boy's hair was slightly spiked and his eyes were large with a bright smile adorning his face. The picture wasn't colored but the attention to detail was amazing. Sora was stunned and he continued to stare at the page when it suddenly dawned on him why the boy seemed so familiar. The spiky hair, the bright eyes, the big smile and without any color…

Tearing his eyes from the book, the brunette pointed a finger down, "…Is that me?" He mumbled, a little embarrassed to ask.

Riku shook his head, silvery strands going everywhere before taking the book back and flipping through the pages until he stopped once again. Turning it so Sora could see the picture, blue irises grew wide. It was him and there was no mistaking it this time, the spiky locks were shaded and even the eyes seemed a little darker, the smile was the only thing that remained the same. Now confused, the dark haired boy glanced up from the paper to stare at the other. Glancing away, Riku's hair covered his red tinted cheeks and pulling the sketch book back to his chest, scooted toward the wall.

Sora saw the light blush and smiling gently, got to his feet, "What beautiful pictures… maybe later you can show me some more." He commented and with a wave, the brunette was out the door.

0o0o0o0

He had searched the entire building, it had taken almost an hour and Sora was exhausted. The brunette had been looking for Roxas and finally finding him in the last place he looked (which incidentally was the last possible place in the building to look) was slightly annoying, especially since he had stopped in the entertainment room and was attacked by Axel. Sora was trapped for a full ten minutes before Pence passed by and graciously freed him.

Plopping down in the chair next to him, Sora scowled in the blonde's general direction. Leon was in the staff room as well, standing at the counter getting a cup of coffee when his whirlwind of a brother flew in. The stoic brunette noticed the look at once, almost letting a smile flit across his features.

Roxas' blue orbs glanced over, "What?" He shrugged finally giving the angry brunette the attention he was after.

"Where were you?! I was looking everywhere for you!" Sora very nearly screamed, "Axel almost choked me to death! Thank God for Pence, if he hadn't shown up I probably would have died and it would've been _all your fault_!"

Leon snorted in amusement, taking a seat beside his brother. The glare pout was promptly turned on him. On his other side the blonde laughed out loud, clutching at his sides.

Facing Roxas once more, Sora huffed, "Stop laughing at me!" His glare was gone, leaving only his protruding lip.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What did you want?"

The smaller brunette stared in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him. He had almost forgotten! "Oh right, Riku! He showed me a picture from his sketch book," He paused and taking a deep breath, retold the entire account in one long, poorly punctuated sentence.

"Riku drew a picture of _you_?" The blonde was stunned, "He must like a challenge." Grinning as he grabbed a brown spike and tugged lightly.

Batting the offending hand away, Sora pouted… again, "Jerk. Hey, do you think if I asked him, he'd give me that picture or maybe he'd draw me a new one. It was really nicely-"

"Sora… do you know who the boy in the drawing was?" Leon's voice interrupted and gained both boys' attention.

"Well I know it's not me but other than that it didn't have a name on it or anything and it wasn't like if I asked him he'd tell me."

The older male mused a moment before getting up and heading for the door. Two sets of blue eyes turning to watch.

"Wait, Squall!" Sora called, stopping him at the doorway, "Do you know who it is?"

A grunt was his answer as the brunette psychiatrist exited the room. Both boys' glanced between them, the chocolate haired one pouting while the other had a very mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Sora, do you want to find out who that kid is?"

Said male looked quite confused, "Yeah… but Squall's never going to tell me."

"I've got an idea then."

* * *

Finally the third chapter, sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four finally done. Yay for me!

Insert usual warnings and disclaimers here.

* * *

"Uh Roxas… I changed my mind. I don't like this idea anymore."

Rolling his eyes skyward, the blonde heaved a sigh, "Too late now. You've already taken his keys and if you go back now, Leon will find out for sure. So let's just get in and get this over with."

"But-"

Grabbing Sora by the arm, Roxas began dragging him into the building, "Let's just go already!"

They passed the now empty front desk, heading down the hall toward the security door and Squall's office. Once they were in front of the right door, Sora unlocked it, both teens slipping into the room unnoticed. Roxas moved to the large oak desk, shifting through papers and files.

"It must be in the filing cabinet." The blonde whispered and pointed toward the grey metal box in the far corner.

The slightly smaller boy shuffled across the floor, making his way over. He pushed the key into the lock and twisting it to the right, pulled the drawer open. Sora glanced at each of the names as he continually flipped through the files, stopping only when he found the one he was looking for. Pulling it out of the cabinet, he moved over to the desk. The dark haired boy opened the file, placing it on the wooden surface so both of them could see what was written inside. Carefully scanning the pages, though the first few had only general information, mostly the stuff he was already aware of until the brunette found a small photograph. In the picture were two boys, the one was definitely Riku with his stunning aqua eyes and silver hair brushing at his chin, who had his arm wrapped around the other boy's shoulders. The second boy was smaller with short slightly spiked blonde hair, bright azure eyes and a large toothy grin.

"That's him… the boy from the drawing."

Roxas smirked, "Hey, you didn't say the kid could almost be your double."

"Are you blind? We look nothing alike." Piercing blue eyes glared at the other.

"You're the one who needs his eyes checked. If you dyed your hair blonde and flattened a bit of this mess," That was the point where he tried to smooth out a few of the renegade chocolate spikes, "You two could pass for siblings."

Sora only scoffed, puffing his cheeks out and turned his back to the blonde. Rolling his eyes, Roxas picked up the picture, taking a closer look and flipping it over found writing on the back, "It says 'Me and Tidus at the beach, age 6'. So Tidus is his name, must be the mysterious best friend we've heard about," Roxas glanced over to Sora but he wasn't listening any more, he had turned the page and was staring wide eyed at it, "Hey Sora…"

Snapping out of his trance, cobalt spheres regarded him, "Huh… what?"

"What are you looking at?" The blonde tried to get a peek but the other had ripped the picture out of his hand and placed it back in the file, closing it with a slap.

"Nothing, it was nothing," Sora hurried back to the cabinet, slipping the folder into place and quietly shutting the drawer, "Let's get out of here before we get caught." He continued as he ushered the blonde out the door.

0o0o0o0

His eyes could see nothing but the darkness around him.

_'Wait!'_ A voice called to him, _'Please, wait!'_ Slowly a figure appeared, a boy running toward him, his hand reaching out.

Those eyes watched but the body they were connected to would not stop, "I can't."

_'Don't leave me please. I'm sorry!'_ The boy drew closer, blonde locks hid his eyes.

"I can't stay." His eyes still watched, his body wouldn't listen and his voice would not speak his mind.

_'You promised! You promised to stay with me, no matter what!'_ His footsteps slowed before they stopped altogether.

"I can't stay." That was all his voice seemed to be able to say. He wanted to ask the boy many questions like where they were and who he was and what was going on but he couldn't force anything more out.

_'But I thought… I thought you loved me too.'_ It was a shock to hear those words for he didn't even recognize the blonde. As he got farther away, the boy faded into the darkness leaving only his voice to echo in his head, _'If you can't love me then love him.'_

_Love who?_

_'Don't let him slip away. Love him!'_

_Love who?_

_'Love him!'_

Riku woke with a start, his body shaking and the sheets wet with sweat. A dream, it had just been a dream. He sat up slowly, brushing his soaked bangs from his eyes and glancing around the room found it was still the middle of the night. Flopping back onto his pillow, Riku curled up on his side and facing the side table stared at the sketch book laying there. Now that his mind was awake, he recognized the boy in his dream, even remembered that some of the words had been spoken to him a long time ago. _I don't understand… love who? … Tidus…_ The silverette hugged himself, holding on with all his might and only now when the darkness swallowed him did he allow the tears to flow.

0o0o0o0

They were in _big_ trouble. Sora wasn't sure how Squall found out but all he knew was that they were in trouble with a capital T. Both teens were standing in Dr. Gainsborough's office; she was sitting behind her desk while Squall stood off to the side, glaring at them. The brunette knew his brother was pissed and he knew that he'd be in more shit later when he got home and he _knew_ that he should probably be paying attention to the lecture Dr. Aerith was giving but his mind wouldn't stop racing. There was no way what he saw in that file was true; it couldn't be real… could it?

"I'm especially disappointed in you two. I would have never thought you'd stoop to something like this. Roxas, you've been here for years, you know the patient files are classified. Only their doctors are allowed to read them." Aerith paused, taking a moment to either allow that information to sink in or to calm herself down, maybe both.

Sora spoke up before she could continue, "But that's not fair!" His voice was louder than it should have been, earning a different look from all three, "I know what we did was wrong and we're sorry! The thing is you put me in charge of Riku's care but don't tell me anything about his past. How do you expect me to help him when I know nothing about him? I ask questions but I don't get any answers," He made sure to look in his brother's direction with that comment, "It's like trying to do a puzzle without knowing what the end picture looks like, it's practically impossible."

The green eyed woman sighed, "I suppose you're right but that doesn't excuse your behavior. You should have come to me and discussed it like an adult. Leon and I will talk about it. You're dismissed; I'll call for you later to hand out your punishment."

Roxas dropped his head, moving toward the door. Sora turned to Squall but the elder male refused to even look at him and with that his heart sank. His brother was beyond just pissed, he had only gotten this mad at Sora once before and he stopped talking to the smaller boy for a full week. Sky irises stared at the floor as he followed the other teen out of the room.

The blonde breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that could have been worse," He glanced at the brunette who had slid to the floor, legs pulled tightly to his chest and head on his knees, "Come on cheer up. It's not like we're going to get fired."

"Squall's so mad; he won't even look at me." The voice was muffled through the boy's knees.

Sapphire eyes shone with confusion, "He'll be fine in a few hours just let him cool down a bit."

At that moment the door to Aerith's office opened and Squall walked out. He didn't spare a glance to either boy on the floor but turned in the opposite direction and headed for his own office.

"Squall?" Said male didn't pause in his steps, acting like he hadn't heard his name and walked right into the room, slamming the door behind him. Sora's face fell, dropping his head back onto his knees, "He won't talk to me."

"So what? It's not like he really talks all that much."

The words had barely left his mouth when the brunette in front of him shot to his feet. The angry glare was something Roxas had never seen on the other's face before, "What do you know anyway?! You just don't get it, do you?! You don't understand anything! You'll _never_ understand!" With that Sora was down the hall and around the corner before the blonde could even think to respond.

0o0o0o0

Roxas had situated himself on the couch in the entertainment room, he couldn't go sit in the staff room, not when everyone would stare at him and wonder what happened and ask why him and Sora had gotten into trouble. He didn't want to deal with that, not right now at least. They would also want to know why Sora had yelled at him then ran off but he didn't have an answer, in fact he was still wondering about that himself…

_"You don't get it, do you?! You don't understand… you'll _never_ understand!"_

What did Sora mean by that, _what could it possibly be that I wouldn't understand?_ Roxas' thoughts were interrupted when he heard the couch make a poof noise as someone took a seat beside him. An arm wrapping comfortably around his shoulders told the blonde exactly who it was that was bothering him and instead of voicing his distaste, merely turned his head slightly to the side to glare daggers at the red head.

"Hey Roxie, why the long face?" He asked with a coy smile.

"Not now Axel… just go away." It wasn't hissed, the way he would normally speak to the other but sounded placid, almost sad.

The smile dropped from Axel's face, leaving a slightly grim expression, "No seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's not like you could do anything, anyway."

"Try me. I've been told I'm a surprisingly good listener." Green spheres glimmered with confidence and a little bit of hope, the usual Axel smirk playing on his lips.

Roxas stared, eying him critically, half in shock and half in disbelief at what he was just told. The staring contest lasted only a moment longer, "Alright fine. It's not like I have anything to lose." But the obnoxious looking grin that took over the red head's face almost made Roxas want to bean him with the TV remote next to his hand and walk away.

0o0o0o0

He practically ran the entire way to Riku's room and stopping in front of the door, he watched the other through the glass. He was drawing again and Sora hated to interrupt, hated to bother him like this but he needed to get away from everyone. A single gentle knock was all Sora gave before entering the teen's room, closing the door silently behind him and just stared into space. Riku had ceased his art and was waiting for him to speak but the brunette had nothing to say this time, in fact he came here so he wouldn't have to explain himself. Nobody understood, nobody even knew how broken he was, how much he was like the patients here, how he understood what it's like to break on the inside and have no one able to fix it. Sora knew how close he'd actually been to being a patient in a hospital like this, Squall was the one who saved him but his brother couldn't fix him, no matter how much he tried. Even though he never said it aloud, the blue eyed boy couldn't help but think how much he was like Riku, he may have gone a different route but the result was the same. Sora talked constantly to drown out the voice in his head, the voice that wouldn't leave him alone, the voice of his father. The man who abandoned him, who wanted nothing to do with a murderer, he had even tried to take Squall away too but his brother would never leave him alone.

Sora wasn't aware of how long he stood there, in the middle of the room, just staring straight ahead or even the fact that tears were streaming down his cheeks but his mind did register the ocean colored spheres gazing at him in confusion. That was all it took, a sob ripped from his throat as his body crumpled to the floor, his hands covering his tear streaked face. He landed on his knees, body bending at the waist as his forearms hit the cold floor. The brunette didn't hear any movement only felt a hand running gently through his chocolate spikes. Another strangled cry left his lips as he pushed himself up into a firm chest. Obviously not realizing it, so used to being held, Sora gripped tighter to the elder teen's shirt and feeling warm arms wrap themselves around him, sobbed harder.

Minutes, that felt like hours passed, leaving the dark haired boy exhausted. Not willing to face his comforter quite yet, buried his face further into the soft fabric of the other's shirt. Sora let another moment pass before allowing his words to fill the room; he felt it only fair to give the concerned teen some answers, tell him the truth.

"I-I… I killed my mother," The hand massaging his scalp stopped and the brunette knew without seeing what kind of look Riku was wearing, "She died giving birth to me. She died while I survived and my father resented me, hated me for it." Tears slipped down his drying cheeks and even after all these years, Sora could still feel the sting as his father's hand connected with his cheek, could still hear the words of hate before watching that man walk away without so much as looking back at him.

_"I'm home Dad!" A ten year old Sora called as he closed the front door of his house. There was no answer from inside and slipping off his shoes, headed for the living room._

_ Eyes the color of the sky scanned the messy interior. Magazines, newspapers and garbage littered the coffee table and floor. Beer bottles and cans cluttered the area around an ugly flower printed armchair that sat right in front of a small television. He could see graying brown spikes over the back of the chair and knew he had found his father, drunk as per usual._

_ The brunette walked up, standing next to the arm of the chair and looking down, met his father's eyes. He was about to speak but the elder male just pushed roughly past him, leaving the boy to stand in the mess of garbage. Sora followed quickly calling after his father and nearly crashed into him when the man stopped abruptly._

_ "Dad, I-" His words were cut off by the sound of a resounding 'crack' and the burning now coming from his cheek brought tears to his eyes._

_ Navy blue orbs glared at him, leaving the young child frozen in place, "Foolish little boy just get the hell away from me!" He raised his hand as if to strike again and flinching, Sora took a step back. A satisfied grin adorned the man's face before he continued, "Get out of my house, I don't want something so disgusting living under my roof! How can you even think I'd want to be anywhere near the monster that killed my wife?! I should have made the doctors kill you, too!"_

_ Sora opened his mouth, taking a shaky breath, "But-"_

_ This time he didn't get a chance to back away, the movement was almost so quick that if he had blinked he would have missed it. The burning returned tenfold and gently cradling his swollen cheek couldn't stop the tears from falling. Sora saw that hand pull back a third time but closed his eyes unable to bear watching his father continue to beat him. The strike never came though and after a minute of hesitation, opened one eye then the other._

_Squall, his brother had their father's wrist, holding him at bay, "That's enough. What the hell's the matter with you?!"_

_ The older man didn't answer as he yanked his arm away, heading back the way he came, glaring down at the smallest brunette. The next morning, his room was empty and he was gone, leaving a seventeen year old to care solely for his only brother._

As the memory faded back into his subconscious, the boy's mind registered the hand had slowly continued its gentle petting through his hair while the other tightened slightly around his back. He understood, Sora _just_ _knew_ that he'd be the one to understand. They sat like that on the floor for a while longer until the brunette pulled out of the comforting arms, revealing puffy eyes and red cheeks. The blue eyed boy was finally ready to face the world again, ready to face Riku again.

He tried to smile but it was shaky, "Thank you for, you know, everything." The tears had stopped and now all he wanted was a long nap.

The silver haired boy let a small smile show, lifting his hand to rest on Sora's reddened cheek and letting his thumb softly brush away the last few tears that managed to escape his notice, "No… c-cry." The voice was a hoarse whisper, being unused for so long and almost too quiet to hear but the chocolate haired male was just close enough.

Sky blue irises went wide, there was no way he heard what he thought he heard. Did Riku just talk? He continued to watch the boy in confusion until a small nod was his answer, leaving him speechless. That was all it took… all Sora had to do was have a mental break down in the guy's room and he just starts up a conversation?!? The smaller teen just stared a while longer; he didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Should he try and get the aqua eyed boy to speak more or maybe go find Squall and tell him… but his brother was still mad at him, Sora just couldn't face him yet.

Riku had been watching the brunette's face go from shocked to curious to depressed, he didn't know the train of thought the boy was on but he sure didn't like where it was heading. So letting a smile play across his lips, he reached out and pulled the boy's mouth into a smile as well.

Sora was surprised to say the least, not only had Riku spoken for the first time in _years_ but the teen had taken to joking around to make him feel better and it did, he felt worlds better. The dark haired boy let a genuine grin show through, allowing the other to know he helped. Thanking the silverette again, the orderly got to his feet and mentioning that he would be back a little later, left the room while smiling back at Riku.

0o0o0o0

That night Sora found himself unable to sleep, his mood quite depressed. Squall hadn't spoken to him since the meeting with Dr. Gainsborough and it was slowly driving him insane. He couldn't stand silence, hated it worse than thunder storms, which was _a lot_ considering during them he always cocooned himself in a large blanket and hid in his closet. Slowly his thoughts shifted back to the night before, the things Roxas had said, that couldn't be why, couldn't be the reason for everything, could it?

Sora threw the covers off himself and jumping out of bed made his way out. He stood, hesitating in front of his brother's door; the brunette sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and chewing it a moment, finally lifted his hand and knocked quietly. After a minute of silence, Sora opened the door and standing in the doorway, cleared his throat, "Squall?"

The elder male was sprawled out on his bed, a book in his hands reading and Sora could tell he was blatantly ignoring him. Another moment passed before the young boy took another step inside, "Squall, you know how much I hate this… please…" His words were choked as he tried to hold his tears at bay.

A soft sigh escaped Leon's lips and placing his book aside, motioned for his brother to come to him. Once the smaller male was comfortable Squall started, "It's alright and I'm sorry. I shouldn't do that."

"No I'm sorry! I was being stupid and I deserve it but I can't sleep when you're mad at me!" The grey eyed male sighed again, pulling Sora into a one armed hug. Silence reigned for a while before the young brunette spoke again, "Squall?" A grunt was his reply, "Do you think that Tidus, Riku's friend, looks just like me?"

Steel grey looked at his brother in confusion, "Where did that come from? Never mind, I never did understand how your mind works…" He paused in thought before continuing, "Yeah I guess I'd say you two look a lot alike, minus the hair color I'd say the two of you could be related."

"You really think so?" Sora's face had fallen with the response and Squall couldn't figure out what had made the boy so sad.

"Well yeah. Don't you think so?"

The blue eyed boy only shook his head, lowering his gaze to the bed sheets. Leon sat there staring for a bit until the younger's head shot up and what looked like tears were at the corners of his eyes.

"Sora… what's wrong?"

"I get it now."

"Get what?"

He jumped from the bed and the embrace of his brother, standing in the middle of the room looking almost frantic, "I know why he's opening up to me, why he wanted me to smile!"

"You're not making any sense. What are you talking about?"

"Today at work after you wouldn't talk to me, I got upset and went to hide in Riku's room and well… I cried. He comforted me so I told him about mom…" Cobalt eyes looked ready to burst and Squall wasn't really sure what to do or say at this point, Sora had never spoken to _any_one about their mother under _any_ circumstances but the boy wasn't finished, "He understood Squall and it was great and then something greater happened… he spoke to me."

The elder male shot up in bed, eyes wide, "What?! Why didn't you tell us?"

"You were still angry…" He paused a moment, "He said he didn't want me to cry and he made me so happy that I could pull him out of his shell but…" Sora trailed off, his eyes locked on a spot on the floor. When Leon thought his brother wasn't going to continue he started again, "I was lying in bed, trying to sleep but that picture of Tidus I saw wouldn't leave my mind and I started thinking and… and I think Riku's just using me as a replacement for Tidus!" The words were shouted as tears dripped down his face.

Squall got up from the bed ready to comfort his brother but when he got closer he was pushed away. The brunette sighed, "That's not true and you know it."

"How would I know? In fact how would you know?! You can't read minds and neither can I! All I _know_ is he wants me to smile and when I smile I look just like Tidus!" Sora was sobbing now unable to control himself any more.

"Sora…" He reached out a hand, hoping to calm the boy a bit. It was slapped away as the small brunette raced from the room and locked himself in his own.

0o0o0o0

The next morning, Sora didn't speak to anyone as he made his way into the building. He wasn't going to allow someone the chance to change his mind, the decision was final. Reaching the place he needed to be, the brunette stopped at the door and barely knocking entered the room.

Sora stood in Aerith's beautiful office but he wasn't there to admire, he was there to fix things. Dr. Gainsborough sat behind her desk, writing notes into a patient's file. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and wrapped to keep it out of her face. The window behind her had the curtains thrown open, letting the sun shine down upon her back.

Forest green spheres glanced up at him, "May I help you, Sora?"

Taking a large shaky breath, he spoke, "Yes. Dr. Aerith I would like a transfer."

"What in heaven's name for?" She looked shocked to say the least, her head had shot up and her eyes had widened slightly.

"It's a personal matter."

Aerith regained her calm before replying, "What could possibly have happened, personally, that would require a transfer of patients?"

Blue eyes turned their gaze to the floor, "I… don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry I can't give you a transfer without a valid reason."

"Please…" Sora glanced up, his whole face pleading with her, "Aerith please reconsider."

The female shook her head, long brown locks swishing against her back, "No, I'm sorry."

"Please transfer me…" The small boy clenched his fists, "Or I'll have to quit."

* * *

I'm horrible at the constant update thing and I'm sorry about that. But this chapter wasn't the easiest for me. I was stuck for a bit and this week I was sick in the hospital but I'm feeling better and my chapter's done so everything worked out :)

Hope you enjoyed and please review ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings: Boy on boy, bad language, the sanity of an asylum.

Disclaimers: I own nothing but my own insanity and trust me, you don't want that.

* * *

Not even an hour later and the whole building was in a monstrous uproar. Everyone had heard about the orderly who had gotten Riku to speak was now getting a patient transfer. No one was exactly sure who let the secret out but it seemed like everybody knew, even a lot of the patients. The now popular brunette was still in Aerith's office, he had pushed one of her comfy chairs back into the closest corner so he could sulk properly, which was what he was doing at that very moment.

"You know you're the one who has to go." The feminine voice spoke from across the room.

"No way! I told you already, I'm not going and that's final!" Sora huffed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Squall was in his usual spot (which happened to be the corner right across from Sora's corner), glaring daggers, "Stop being so stubborn."

The young brunette only poked his bottom lip out before turning his head to burn a hole into a spot on the wall. The small group remained silent as neither psychiatrist had any idea how to get the boy to do as they asked.

Sky blue dropped their gaze, "It's best if I don't go there anymore." Sora's voice was soft as his hands lay lifeless in his lap.

"Sora, it has to be you." Dr. Gainsborough said sternly.

"Please," Looking up, he locked gazes with his brother, "Please just send someone else… anyone! He has to know but not from me. I can't do it." Sora got up from his chair, ignoring the calls as he crossed the room and closed the door behind him.

Squall watched the boy leave and sighing deeply, "Send Roxas," Green eyes shot him a disbelieving look though she said nothing, "He thinks it's the right thing to do. That this is what's best for Riku."

"But Leon, I don't understand…"

Sighing again, the brunette male grabbed the discarded chair from the corner, pushing it back into place and taking a seat told the confused woman everything.

0o0o0o0

_I hear voices,_ was the first coherent thought he had as heavy lids struggled open only to be forced closed again by the blinding lights overhead.

_"Of course, we'll take excellent care of him… There's nothing to worry about…"_

Trying again, he blinked through the light, revealing a pair of large turquoise spheres. His arm went to wipe at one of his eyes but it wouldn't move, in fact his whole body was frozen in place. Panicking slightly, he started to struggle against the invisible binds but as one of the voices grew closer, the more his panic began to build and the harder he fought.

A blur of grey entered his vision and he couldn't remember for the life of him who this person was, _"I see you'll be awake for this session. It'll be nice to watch your eyes for once."_

Suddenly more frightened than before he pulled at his restraints, listening to the sinister laughter above him, _"You needn't be afraid, I'm going to force the demons from your mind."_

It was only a moment after the words were said when the pain started, beginning at his temples and moving throughout his entire being. Tears spilled from his aqua eyes as he opened his mouth to scream even knowing that no sound would come, _stop… please no more…_

Riku jerked up in bed, his body still trembling from his nightmare. He sighed quietly, shaking his head of the images, why was he having them again? He hadn't had one in a while. As his mind cleared, he remembered that that boy, Roxas, had come to see him, _that's right…_ the blonde had told him that Sora had been transferred to another patient, Riku of course had shied away from him but that hadn't stopped the silverette from listening. He never gave the reason why Sora had been moved and maybe the blonde didn't know but Riku was hesitant to believe him instead waiting the rest of the evening for the brunette to visit like every other day. But Sora never showed leaving him to his own thoughts. Riku grabbed his head, pulling it between his knees and held it there, fighting the burning in the back of his aqua orbs, _Sora… he kept the monsters away… why did he have to leave?_

0o0o0o0

It had been a full week since he'd asked for this transfer and he couldn't believe how much he was regretting it. Riku may or may not have been using him but anyone was better than who he was now stuck with. Sora sighed loudly, trying to avoid eye contact with his new patient. The brunette couldn't actually believe that Dr. Gainsborough would do this to him, forcing him to watch over Seifer of all people! She had told him that there were no other patients available but Yuffie could always use the extra help and she was probably right but Sora still couldn't figure out how _he_ was going to be of any help against Seifer (the guy's a maniac).

Electric blue eyes glanced over at the sound, "What's the matter am I boring you?"

Sora stuttered shaking his head adamantly but a voice spoke up before he could, "Just back off Seifer. Don't you get tired of being in trouble _all the time_?" The dark haired girl sat on a plush chair reading a magazine and mostly ignoring the both of them.

Said male snorted, glancing once more at the brunette before turning back in his seat. They were in the entertainment room, watching a horror movie because Seifer had decided it would be fun to scare the life out of Sora. The younger boy was curled up in the matching chair, trying his best to block out the shrill screams and splattering blood. Fingers traced absentmindedly along the silver crown pendent hidden under his shirt; it had been a present from Squall on his seventh birthday. His brother had told him how their mother had made it for him before he was born just as she had done for Squall when he was born. Her plan had been to give it to Sora when he was old enough but after her death, the older boy cared for it in her place. It was the only gift Sora had ever gotten from his mother, the most precious thing he owned.

Seifer was sprawled across the couch, watching the movie, when he turned his attention back to the blue eyed boy, "So what's the real reason for ditching the freak? Not interesting enough for you?"

Pulled from thoughts of his mother, Sora glowered, "Don't call him that! Why are you so mean to him anyway?! It's not like he's ever done anything to you!" The blonde only gave a malicious smirk as he leapt over the back of the couch, heading out the double doors and around the corner.

Sora shuddered at the look he was given and hopping out of the chair with a cry of, 'Hey wait!' He chased after his patient, thankful to leave the blood and gore behind.

Yuffie, on the other hand, remained in her seat. She flipped the page of her magazine; _Sora can handle whatever Seifer has planned this time._ She mused, and besides she needed a break.

0o0o0o0

He followed after Seifer as they walked silently down the hall, "You never did answer my question." Sora stated, breaking the quiet.

The blonde made a humming noise, placing a finger to his chin as if in thought, "Riku huh… he's a spoiled brat playing sick to get attention. Just a freak, is all he is. Good for nothing but taking up space." Electric blue eyes glanced over, a grin on his lips.

The way he smirked back at Sora, the way he spoke about Riku like he was an old piece of furniture that should have been thrown in the garbage a long time ago caused a low rumble in the back of the brunette's throat as he clenched his hands into fists, "If you ask me I'd say you're the faker, someone who just likes to bully others and hasn't learned how to grow up yet."

Seifer had reached the end of the hall, the smaller boy right behind him. They were in the bedroom hallway and the brunette finally realized exactly which room the blonde had been heading for. Determined to keep him away from Riku, Sora placed himself in front of the silverette's door. Seifer paused in his step and just stared at the younger for a moment before that same vicious grin plastered itself across his face. Catching Sora by the scruff of his shirt swung him around and straight into the wall at the end of the hall.

"You know if you had just stayed out of the way, I would have let that comment slid and taken all my anger out on the freak… but no you have to be a little shit and piss me off!" The words were hissed loudly in Sora's face as he was lifted up until only the tips of his sneakers were scraping against the tiled floor.

Choking slightly, his hands grabbed onto the elder's arm, struggling hopelessly as he tried to get free. Attempting to scream for help, Sora's sky blue spheres widened when nothing but soft gurgling passed his lips. The brunette knew exactly what was going to happen next even before he was struck. His head was thrown to the right with the force of the blow and he whimpered a bit at the sting that was left behind. Sora had closed his eyes for the second hit so he missed the shadow that moved along the wall. Seifer though, had pulled back at the sight, dropping the smaller boy to the floor.

The blonde stepped away, "You're a lucky little shit but you better watch your ass from now on." He snarled, turning on his heel and storming back down the hallway.

Landing hard on his butt, Sora groaned knowing there was sure to be a bruise there tomorrow. Pushing up off the floor, he gently rubbed his abused tailbone and cobalt blue looked up just as the figure emerged from the shadows. The brunette sputtered a moment, realizing just who it was that had rescued him, "Cloud?!"

"Were you expecting someone else?" He asked a blonde brow rose in question.

"No! Well… kinda… yeah. What are you doing down here anyway? Your room is at the other end of the hall."

Cloud shrugged a single shoulder, "Zack likes talking to the others and a lot of them stay in their rooms for the most part."

It was then that Sora actually remembered that the male in front of him was also a patient here. Chocolate locks swayed slightly as he nodded, unsure of how to respond to a comment about the blonde's 'other half'.

"How's your face?" Cloud continued glancing at the red mark sure to turn purple on the boy's cheek.

The brunette tenderly cupped his swollen cheek, "It'll be fine by tomorrow." He answered waving it off.

"I'm sure your brother will have a fit when he sees it," There was an almost smirk on his lips as he spoke and it grew as he observed sky blue eyes widen, his mouth hanging agape at the realization, "So Sora, what were you two arguing about in the first place?"

"It was nothing important." Sora turned to leave but he stopped when a glimmer from Riku's gold name plate caught his eye. Making his way over, clear blue orbs looked through the window. On the bed was a mass, completely covered in blankets though a few strands of silver did peek out over the edge.

"He's been like that since you left," The blonde stood right behind him, gazing at the lump on the bed, "You should talk to him, he really misses you."

The brunette made a sort of snorting noise and turned his head to the side, "He'll get over it!" The words sounded harsh, much worse than he had intended so when he spoke again, they were almost a whisper, "Besides it's not really me he's missing."

"I'm not so sure he will," Cloud sighed, watching the younger boy from the corner of his eye, "His disorder…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You do understand how his works, right?"

"Not really… I was only told about it once."

Cloud sighed again, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders, "His disorder is, to put it simply a terrible fear of loss. He's so afraid of losing someone that he's shut the entire world out… except for you. He let you in and you rejected him, Riku is not just going to 'get over it'."

Dark brown bangs covered blue eyes, "I didn't reject him. I'm doing what's best for Riku. He can't see me anymore; I'll only make things worse."

"Are you positive? Do you know that for sure?" The blonde dropped to his knees, blue met blue though one set was partly hidden by dark colored locks, "I have a disorder Sora, I know what it's like to be lost and confused and when you finally find that someone who shines a light through your darkness, you never want to let that person go."

"You're talking about Squall aren't you?"

Cloud only smiled at the question, "You are Riku's light, don't leave him alone in his darkness," Another smile at the brunette as he stood from his crouched position, "Even if I'm left in the dark, I'm never alone. I'll always have Zack with me," He placed a finger to his temple then his heart, "And if one day I stop hearing his voice in my head, I'll know he's left me in good hands." With a final look at Riku's door, he nudged Sora toward it and headed off back down the hall.

He stood in front of the door, unsure of what he should do now; he had resolved himself to never see Riku again but if what Cloud said was true… then the brunette couldn't turn his back on him. Sora had to admit he was scared to talk to Riku again, afraid of the boy's reaction. What if he wanted nothing to do with the brunette after what he did, what if he refused to acknowledge him. It made Sora want to cry even though he knew he deserved it.

Sora hesitated at the door a while longer, watching the sleeping figure before he knocked once and entered. The room seemed darker then what it once was, maybe it was the cloudy sky or maybe not, the brunette couldn't be sure. Slowly making his way to the bed, Sora waited for the lump to move, crawl away from him but Riku didn't even seem to notice there was another person in his room or he just didn't care. Dark brows furrowed at the silverette's new behavior, the blue eyed boy stood at the edge of the bed, staring at the mass when he noticed the boy's sketch book had been knocked to the floor, the pencil nowhere to be found. Sora knew from the time they'd spent together that Riku's sketch book meant the world to him and to see it discarded so carelessly was very troubling to him.

He picked the book back up, placing it on the side table and taking a calming breath, "Riku…" It was spoken in a whisper, afraid of scaring the other.

The mass under the blankets went rigid before there was a slight shuffle and a single aqua orb appeared. It stared Sora down as if waiting for the boy in front of it to vanish and then it widened. There was a flutter of blankets and a cry of 'Sora!' and the next thing the brunette knew the lump had collided with his chest, arms wrapped firmly around his waist and he was hauled to the floor when the other fell to his knees.

It took a minute for Sora to register the fact that his shirt was getting wet and when he realized the reason why, wrapped his arms tightly around the crying boy's back, "Oh Riku, I'm so sorry." He whispered against the silvery locks, burying his face in them.

Riku's tears had stopped shortly after but the boy refused to release Sora and apparently his grip was that of a steel bear trap. So taking in this new attachment, the brunette shifted until he was on his butt, back against the wall and knees bent with the silver haired teen curled up between his legs.

They were silent for a long while, Sora gently running his fingers through the silky platinum strands until the older teen adjusted his position, pushing his face away from the brunette's chest. Turquoise eyes were red and puffy, drying tear streaks lined his face and sniffling slightly, he smiled. The smaller boy said nothing, only returned the gesture and really Sora couldn't be more grateful for the way things turned out. He had been so nervous about getting a bad reaction that he had forgotten how happy just being around Riku made him feel.

Finally aware of the arms that had wrapped themselves around his neck, the dark haired teen glanced down as Riku hugged him, nuzzling the crook of his neck, "… No leave again." The words were soft and hesitant and Sora figured they were meant to be a statement even though they sounded more like a question.

Giving a kind smile, his brown hair swishing as he nodded, "Yeah, sure. I won't leave again." And the brunette could feel the other boy's grin across his skin.

His fingers continued to rake through Riku's hair when his thumb brushed against pale skin. Sora frowned as the skin had been rough like it was scarred not smooth like the rest. So moving his hand over the spot again, just in case he had imaged it and feeling the same scarred skin, he pushed the long bangs away. There on the teen's temple was an almost circular scar, tinged black in places and the orderly was about to ask about it when a hand knocked his away, holding not only that spot but the matching place on the opposite side.

A worried expression crossed Sora's face and it was at that moment he remembered something, something he had seen in Riku's file that he had almost forgotten. Pushing himself up with the help of the wall, the blue eyed teen jumped to his feet, a look of angry determination on his face. He was just about at the door when a pair of hands grabbed his arm; sky blue glanced behind him, registering the horrified look on his patient's face and sighing, turned back around.

Riku was shaking his head, silver hair flying everywhere, "No leave… no leave!"

The brunette smiled reassuringly, "I'll be back, I promise," But that seemed to do little to ease the others worry as the hands had tightened around his arm and he continued to shake his head. Sora's lips pursed slightly in thought before an idea came to mind. Carefully pulling his arm free, he reached around his neck and removed the crown pendent that hadn't left his person since receiving it all those years ago, "Here," Aqua eyes watched as Sora gently draped the necklace over the teen's head and placing a finger to the center of the silver crown, he spoke, "This was a gift from my mother and I expect you to take good care of it 'til I get back."

Those ocean colored spheres dropped to the pendent against his chest, his fingers delicately tracing the edges. After an almost tense moment of silence (well Sora was tense anyway), the silverette looked up and smiled happily, arms weaving themselves around the brunette in a crushing hug. Sora gave a silent sigh of relief, returning the hug and grinning back at Riku, he slipped out of the room.

0o0o0o0

"So you suffer a week of torture with Seifer and then go crawling back to Riku… what's wrong with you, man?!"

Roxas was laughing and it _wasn't_ funny. Sora was glaring, trying his hardest not to leap across the table and strangle his friend. The two were in the entertainment room, sitting around a puzzle they'd been working on since lunch as the blonde interrogated him. Axel was lounging on the couch, never too far from his 'precious Roxy', of course that was after he had tried to crush the both of them, accordingly.

Ignoring his soon to be ex-friend, his mind began wandering back on his day so far. When he left Riku's room, he had made his way straight to Aerith's office, determined to get the silver haired teen as his patient again. After practically begging (on his hands and knees) for his old position back, he couldn't bare being stuck with Seifer for another minute, Dr. Gainsborough 'hmmed' and 'hawed' over it for what seemed like an eternity before smiling and replying with an '_Of course, I was only waiting this entire week for you to come groveling to me._' He could only stare, gaping at her, thinking how she had tricked him, he'd been duped and he had been an idiot for not seeing it sooner. Though it hadn't been that part of their conversation that was now bothering him, it wasn't even the question he'd asked but the answer he'd received that was really troubling.

Sora scowled, just thinking about it. How could someone do that to another person? It was despicable. When he had asked about Riku's scars, he could tell that Aerith was very hesitant to answer but he was quick to remind her about the last time they withheld information from him. The brunette was shocked to learn that Riku had only moved to Miracle Gardens three months before and the reason for his transfer had been an even bigger surprise, to find out that a whole institution could be shut down and the patients moved all because of a single doctor's malpractice. Upon finding out what the doctor had been doing quickly changed the brunette's mind, just knowing that there had been a psychopath out there doing illegal shock therapy on people was sick. What made it worse was the pictures he had found in Riku's file, the ones he was praying weren't real turned out to be actual photographs of the area. Sora could still vividly see them in his mind, the bed with arm and leg restraints, the different machines with wires sticking out but the most disturbing was the picture of the actual conductor, there were two of them, metal, rounded at one end with wires coming out of the opposite side. They looked fairly old fashioned, like they were created centuries ago and for all Sora knew they were, even now he'd cringe at the thought of having one of those pressed against his head… _poor Riku…_

Snapping fingers drew him out of his stupor, "The least you can do is pay attention when I'm laughing at you." Roxas huffed, removing his hand from in front of the others face before it was bitten.

"You suck." He pouted, blue eyes glancing to the clock before shifting toward the double doors leading to the bedrooms.

An arm wrapped itself around his shoulder, the other matching its partner's action on Roxas. Axel smirked, "Come on Roxy, can't you see little Sora is anxious to get back to his boy toy."

The brunette sputtered incoherently before choking out the words 'boy toy', his face growing warm as his cheeks tinted a dark shade of red. Coughing slightly, sent pleading eyes to Roxas, "Help me!" But the blonde seemed too busy laughing to care about his friend's embarrassment. He pushed the arm resting on him almost violently off and jumped to his feet. Sora glared at the two, who were in stitches then stomped toward the doors but not before hearing Axel's voice drifting after him, "I wonder what they do in that room for so long, what with that bed there _just_ tempting them." The burning in his cheeks grew as he hurried out of the room, not willing to hear any more of what Axel had to say.

0o0o0o0

Sora made it to Riku's room in record time, stopping to glance through the window (the way he always used to) to see the silver haired patient resting on his bed. His back was against the headboard, a few pillows supporting him, his knees were bent with his sketch book propped in his lap, a pencil held loosely in one hand and the crown pendent in the other, lifted up so the light from the window glinted off its shiny surface. Aqua irises were staring mesmerized at it and the brunette couldn't help a fond smile from appearing. He watched the scene another moment and then knocking twice, let himself in, closing the door silently behind him.

Riku immediately ducked his head, hiding his face behind a curtain of silver but Sora could see the boy's internal struggle to not glance up and check who had come in. An instant later, a single turquoise sphere peeked through his long hair and suddenly all thought of hiding had vanished from his form as the elder teen's head shot up, a large smile across his lips. The brunette returned the smile, climbing on the bed as well, letting his back lean against the wall and his feet dangle off the edge.

"So what are you drawing?"

Riku's eyes flashed to his art before handing the book over. Sora was surprised to see what had been drawn on the page, his necklace, all different sizes and angles. Some were just the crown, others had the chain and some were even draped around a neck and shoulders but every single pendent had the sun glistening off of it.

"This is amazing!" The orderly was clearly astounded, "You're such a good artist. I could never draw anything more than stick people," He laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "Can I see more?"

Nervously the aqua eyed teen, moving Sora's hands as needed, gently flipped back a page then glanced away, once again hiding his face from view. The brunette scanned the picture; it was a boy in a dark room, lying on his side with his legs pulled up to his chest, an arm stretched out, struggling to touch the light just out of reach. Cobalt orbs went wide, Cloud's words seeming to slap him in the face, '_You are Riku's light, don't leave him alone in his darkness._'

Sora's head slumped forward, dark bangs covering his face, "Can you believe I actually thought I was helping. I'm so stupid." He was fighting the burning in the back of eyes, how could he have thought that isolating a person further would help anyone.

It was quiet for a while as no one moved then two hands took Sora by the face and lifted him so they were eye level. Sky blue met turquoise in a silent exchange as two thumbs brushed the wetness from his cheeks. The brunette didn't realize the lack of distance between them until a pair of lips pressed against his and his mind skidded to a halt, eyes the size of saucers as he watched aqua spheres disappear behind their lids. The kiss didn't last long; the gentle pressure was sweet yet chaste. When they did pull apart, Riku was blushing a soft pink but a large smile adorned his face when he saw Sora, the brunette was adorable, leaning slightly forward, his eyes had closed at some point and a dark red colored his cheeks.

Riku was staring at him and Sora had no clue what to say or do in a situation like this. Really this had been his first kiss, it wasn't that nobody liked him; it was just that when he was young all the girls had said he was too sweet and innocent to kiss and honestly before Kairi, there weren't any girls interested in him so some would think that he would have jumped at the chance to be with her but no… go figure.

The dark haired teen laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "Riku, I…" _don't know what to say, _but silver locks flew side to side and he was still smiling, allowing Sora to release the breath he was holding. He almost wanted to smack himself upside the head, of course Riku understood and obviously no words were needed. Welcoming his patient in for a hug, they embraced until the blue eyed teen glanced at his watch. He had been off work for five minutes now, Squall was going to come looking for him at this rate.

Gently pulling away, "Sorry Riku but it's time for me to go home," He made sure to give a reassuring smile, "I'll be back tomorrow, promise."

The silverette's smile faded and a look of scared disappointment filled his features, it looked as if he were about to protest when his fingers wrapped around the pendent hanging from his neck, squeezing it once with a grin and a nod, sat back on his knees, giving the brunette enough room to move. Sora gave an internal grimace, he had been planning on taking his necklace back before he left for the night but by the looks of it, he wouldn't be getting it back until he could prove himself to his silver haired patient. So climbing to his feet and getting one last hug from Riku, left the teen's room. The brunette bolted down the hall; he needed to see his brother pronto.

0o0o0o0

"Squall, I need your hel…p." Sora burst into the office next to Aerith's, the one with no name engraved on it but now belonged to Squall… to find Cloud straddling his brother, hands deep within the dark tresses and their lips crushed together in a hungry kiss, guess Riku wasn't the only one with that idea. The sound of the door opening was enough for them to push apart, violently, with the blonde ending up on his butt on the floor. If Sora had still been looking he would have seen that both were visibly embarrassed at getting caught.

The smaller boy's cheeks were burning so bad he thought they might just spontaneously combust, "Sorry! I'll come back later… I didn't know you were… ah… busy." He moved so fast it was almost as if he hadn't just interrupted them.

A short while later, Squall found his brother practically hidden within his locker, the blush had wrapped all the way around to his neck and if the elder male wasn't just as uncomfortable he would have made a comment to further humiliate the boy.

Clearing his throat, he spoke, "Sora, you needed to speak with me?"

The younger brunette pulled out of his locker, "I can't believe you were doing that! I think I'm scarred for life!" He was pacing now, shaking his head as if trying to fling the images from his mind.

"Sora, it wasn't that bad."

"It's like walking in on your parents having sex!"

"Sora-"

"Oh God… you two could have been having sex!"

Any further sound was cut off when Squall grabbed the boy by his shoulder and wrapped the other around his mouth, "Enough already! Nothing like that happened, it was just a kiss. Now what was so important that you couldn't knock before entering my office?" Sora's muffled reply only confirmed one thing; his brother really was an idiot. Directing the boy to the table and dropping him in a chair, Squall rolled his eyes and removed his hand.

The younger rubbed an arm over his mouth, the beginnings of a pout showing in those bright blue spheres. He hesitated for a second more as the blush came back full force, "Umm… you see I was with Riku and… we… well it more like he…"

The older male couldn't stand it when his brother was so inarticulate and returning his hand, silenced the boy, "Please just spit it out." Before removing it once again.

"I-I… he kissed me." Sora had dropped his face into his hands which were leaning on the table, embarrassment rolling off of him in waves.

Leon had the urge to laugh at the irony but didn't, just took a seat next to the young orderly, "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" A nod was his answer, "What about it?" A prompt glare pout was his reply, "Instead of worrying about it, why don't you just go with it and see where it takes you?"

The boy lifted his head out of his hands, "That doesn't sound like advice you'd give."

"It's not. Let's just say a new friend told me." A hint of a smirk played across the older male's lips.

Sora furrowed his brow, not liking one bit what that could mean but he wouldn't get the chance to say so as Squall got to his feet and began heading for the door. Jumping up, the teen hurried to his brother's side, "Hey Squally, can you do me a favor?" He asked as the two made their way to the parking lot.

Glaring steel colored eyes turned to him, "Depends."

"Well you see…"

* * *

Ta-Da! A new chapter just like magic. I hope you like it because I think I fried my brain writing Seifer (we have creative differences) but I know reviews are sure to make it better :)


	6. Chapter 6

Usual warnings and disclaimers.

Side note: _'italics'_ are thought speak._  


* * *

_

Sapphire pools reflected in the mirror, intently scanning every inch of face those eyes belonged to. Suddenly stopping just above a blonde brow caused both brows to crinkle in disgust, there, on the right side of his face, was a scar, mostly healed but still loud and screaming for attention. A hand came into view as two pale fingers gently traced the scar, following it down and over the temple. Orbs of blue turned angry, that hand pulling away, fisting in rage and spinning on his heel, stormed from the bathroom. Even after three years, it was still there to remind him, to torment him and it was out in the open for all to see, showing the world, making them ask questions, digging up the past and once they knew the truth there was no going back, they would look at him differently and he couldn't blame them. If he couldn't see past it then how could he expect others to?

_'Cloud?'_

The blonde flopped onto his bed, a hand under his head while the other rested lazily on his stomach as he stared at the ceiling, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

_'You know I'm in here right? Hearing everything you think and speaking of which you should knock it off! Nobody sees you differently 'cause you've got a scar.'_

"It's not the scar itself, it's what it symbolizes," He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes; "It means I'm crazy, that I hear my dead best friend in my head. Everyone who hears the story, they look at me funny, with pity… maybe they're a little scared too. I don't know!"

With his eyes shut, Cloud could almost see him, standing there smiling with his hands behind his head, black hair spiking everywhere and some of the bluest eyes he'd ever seen, _'You know that's not true Cloud… Okay so maybe there are a few like that but what about that boy, Sora? He's never looked at you like that or Roxas for that matter. And what about Leon, has he ever looked at you with pitying eyes?'_

"Zack…"

The blonde could see the smile that was on his friend's face, _'You always forget I know what you're thinking, never could hide anything from me. If he's the one just say so,'_ A small chuckle filled his ears,'_You gotta take some initiative to get what you want and for now don't worry about the consequences but know that I'll always look out for you, no matter what.'_

"Thanks Zack." Sapphire spheres appeared again when knocking was heard. The blonde sat up just as his bedroom door opened and standing in the doorway was none other than Leon.

The brunette's dark eyes watched him a moment before he spoke, "I've come to get you for your session."

0o0o0o0

The door burst open, slamming into the wall with a 'bang', "Rise and Shine, Sleepy Head! It's a beautiful morning, time to get up!" The intruder sang in a cheery voice. The figure in the bed wasn't aware of the early morning wakeup call though and jolted in surprise, tangling himself in the sheets and nearly falling off the bed. Deep aqua spheres glared, recognizing Sora's voice instantly even in his half conscious state. This only caused the brunette to laugh, "If that's suppose to be scary, it isn't working."

Unfortunately for Riku, that was true. In his fright, the ocean eyed boy had fallen half way off the bed with his head dangling upside down and his hands resting on the floor. His silvery locks flowed down the side of the bed like a waterfall, pooling between his hands, leaving his face free of hair. Sora's laughter quickly subsided when he realized this, he had never noticed just how gorgeous Riku was with all that hair covering his face. A soft pink dusted over his nose as he moved across the room, kneeling down in front of the still tangled boy, "You have such a beautiful face, why do you hide it behind all this hair?" His smile was gentle but the question was personal and the brunette never expected to get an actual answer.

Turquoise hid behind their lids, "People scare me…" The elder teen then lifted himself back onto the mattress, rolling onto his stomach so he was able to watch the other better.

It was safe to say, Sora was stunned. Not only had that been the closest thing to a normal sentence the teen had ever said to him but that's the kind of information Squall should be hearing and he wondered for a minute if he should start to bring a notebook to write it all in but it was a short lived idea, he never had liked taking notes.

Flashing his best smile, Sora hauled himself to his feet, "I don't scare you do I?" It had actually been a rhetorical question but the silverette hadn't known that and shook his head in response, "Well good. So how about you get ready for the day and I'll worry about everything else."

He reached a hand out, grabbing an arm and pulled the older teen right off the bed. It didn't go exactly as he had planned because when Riku tried to catch himself he couldn't as his feet were still tangled in the sheets causing him to tumble forward, crashing into Sora and sending the both of them to the floor. The blue eyed boy was laughing, despite how much it had really hurt to have the larger boy land on him but he couldn't help it, seeing Riku try everything in his power to stay upright was just too funny.

There was a blush on his patient's face as he moved up and off of Sora, crossing the room towards a door the brunette hadn't noticed the first time he had been to the room, perhaps it was because of the circumstances of his first visit or maybe part of the reason was it's mostly hidden by the bedroom door when it's open. Whatever the case, he found it was a bathroom and finding that odd, he had mentioned it to his brother. Squall had said that only under certain conditions could a patient have a personal bathroom. Normally all patients would have to use the public bathroom, which were supervised, at the beginning of the bedroom hallway and when Sora had first seen it, it reminded him a whole lot of the high school showers. He had been told that Riku was one of the few who had his own, Aerith had decided that when he had first arrived and considering his immense fear of people it wasn't a surprise. The brunette hummed slightly to himself as his mind drifted, sky blue eyes scanning the few books on the desk, reading the titles while he waited for Riku to finish getting ready.

It was a good twenty minutes later when Riku finally emerged, squeaky clean with silvery locks still damp against his face. Aqua irises found Sora on the bed, he was up on his knees and resting his arms against the top of the headboard, head tilted to the side as he stared out the only window in the room. The sound of his patient's footsteps caught his attention; he turned his head, revealing sparkling blue orbs and a bright smile, "Are you ready?"

The silver haired teen nodded once as he watched Sora jumped off the bed and make his way over. With another smile, the smaller boy took a pale hand in his, "Come on, let's go." And with that began to walk toward the door, stopping only when he felt the hand in his tugged away. Whirling around, Sora saw a look of shear horror on the others face.

The silverette had pulled both hands tight to his chest, trembling slightly; he took a step back and started to shake his head, muttering over and over to himself.

"… Riku." The orderly spoke, concern lacing the name.

Riku had backed right against the edge of the bed, startled he jolted before dropping his weight onto it and scooting all the way to the far corner. Sora stared, eyes wide at the cowering form curled up on the bed. Cautiously moving to his patient's side, the blue eyed boy reached a hand out, placing it on one of the arms that covered the teen's pale face, "Riku… are you alright? What's wrong?" When no answer came, he shifted closer, "Please talk to me. I can't help if you won't tell me."

The head of silver shook beneath the arms securely wrapped over it, "No leave… no… no… no leave!"

"Oh Riku…" Pulling the shaking teen into his arms, the brunette held him close, gently massaging his fingers through silky platinum strands, "It's okay, I've got you. No one's going to hurt you… I promise."

They rocked together, Sora's soothing words the only sounds between them. A pair of sea green irises finally peaked up through long bangs, the terror in those eyes muted as he pushed out of the embrace.

The orderly glanced to the other, "Feeling better?" A nod was his response, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" Meeting his patient's eyes, he forced a smile, "We don't have to go if you're uncomfortable with it. I should have asked you first."

Bright azure watched the emotions clash on Riku's face until he scrambled off the bed, hand held out for the chocolate haired teen to take, a hesitate smile touching his lips, "I go… with you."

0o0o0o0

Axel's head smacked the table, the echo loud in the empty room, "I'm so bored!" He was in the cafeteria, waiting on Roxas. The orderly had been asked to help in the kitchen, leaving the red head to fend for himself and since he never ventured far from the blonde's side, he was left to wait… "So, _so_ bored!" Which didn't happen to be his strongest quality.

"Christ sakes, kid! Quit yer God damn bitching already!" Cid screamed, waving his spatula in the air.

Roxas only rolled his eyes at them both, "If you're so bored you can always help."

The head on the table shifted slightly, a shining emerald eye gazing at them, "_I'm_ a patient here, I don't have to help. In fact…" Red spikes danced as he shot up in his chair, "_You_ should be entertaining me! That is your job after all."

"Actually," The blonde teen grabbed a rag and made his way out into the dining area, "My job is to keep you from doing something horribly stupid, like, for instance, burning down the entire building." He chucked the rag at his patient, hitting him square in the chest.

Taking fake offense, Axel held his chest, "I would never!" A snort was his only reply before grabbing the rag off his lap, "I bet Sora wouldn't force Riku into doing chores." He grumbled miserably, weakly wiping across the surface of the table he was at.

0o0o0o0

The grip on his hand was tight, extremely tight, so tight he was sure his fingers were going to fall off with the lack of circulation but if that's what it took to get the older teen to walk through the hallway then he was going to bare with the pain. Sora glanced to the side, watching as fearful turquoise darted back and forth, shifting closer whenever someone passed them by. The silverette's other hand had, at some point, fisted into the sleeve of his shirt, holding onto him like a koala cub to its mother, afraid the world would attack if left alone even for an instant.

Turning the corner, the duo stopped in front of a door. The brunette shifted Riku's sketch book to his other arm so he was able to retrieve his keycard from his pocket, swiping it over the scanner and with a buzz and a flash of green, the door was pushed open and left to close behind them with a click.

The sun shone brightly as it filtered through the trees, a light breeze rustling the leaves and the scent of the flowers wafted in the air. Aqua spheres stared in awe, having never been outside since arriving at the institute. The green grass was soft and warm underfoot, being as Riku was shoeless since he had never needed to wear them in his room.

Sora watched the teen silently, he had known this would be what the other needed, to get out of that room and experience life even if it was just a little bit. Shimmering ocean eyes looked to the dark haired boy, a genuine grin curling his lips before racing through the trees toward a large flowerbed in the back, dragging Sora behind him.

0o0o0o0

"Would you look at that?"

Leon 'hummed', stopping just behind Cloud as they headed back to the blonde's room, looking through the window to try and catch a glimpse of what he was suppose to be seeing. On the other side of the door were Riku and his brother, under the largest tree in the garden. The blue eyed orderly was leaning against the trunk, one leg bent with his arm placed lazily over it. The silverette was lying on Sora, head resting under his chin and using both legs to prop his sketch book in his lap. The brunette's other arm was reaching over Riku's one shoulder, pointing and laughing at something on the page open to them. The silverette wasn't looking at the paper though, Leon noticed, those eyes focused on Sora as he smiled up at him.

Cloud sighed, "In all the time he's been here, I've never seen him smile."

"Do you see him a lot? I was under the impression that Riku doesn't normally leave his room."

"We visit him, watching him through the window. Zack thinks he needs the company even if he doesn't know he has it," Steel grey turned to the blonde, who had gotten a faraway look in his eyes and a sad smile on his face, "We saw Riku the night he arrived here; it was… a frightening sight."

_An intense burst of lightening and a deafening peal of thunder woke Cloud from his sleep. He could hear the sound of rain pelting at his window and sluggishly rubbing his eye, moved into a sitting position. It was still night but the hall outside his room seemed darker than usual so pulling back the covers, Cloud climbed out of bed and made his way to the door._

_ The hallway was black and he realized that the power had gone out, his sapphire pools not able to see much through the darkness. Cloud stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly about to head back to bed when the faint sound of voices brought his attention back to the window in his door. At first he could see nothing but the grey walls as his eyes adjusted to the dark, slowly the voices became louder, the squeaky wheel of a gurney also present and then beams of light flashed past his vision. The blonde recognized Dr. Gainsborough's voice mixed within the rest of the night staff, they were speaking in hushed tones so he was unable to hear what was being said even though the group had rounded the corner and was passing in front of his room._

_ With a second crack of thunder, light exploded throughout the room and into the hallway. Cloud's bright blue spheres went wide at the sight; there on the gurney was a boy, maybe late teens, wrists and ankles strapped to the bed, a larger strap across his upper arms and chest. He was struggling violently against his restraints, bucking his hips, yanking his arms and thrashing his head from side to side. One of the staff directed his flashlight at the boy's face, platinum strands whipping around him and his mouth opened wide in a scream but no sound ever passed his lips. Cloud watched mesmerized as the teen's body slumped against the slab of metal, his head falling to the side, facing him so the blonde could catch a glimpse of his eyes… they were a dull green, listless and empty, there was no spark of life, completely dead. As those lifeless pools disappeared behind their lids, the group continuing down the hall and out of sight, Cloud realized that the boy had been sedated. A soft sigh left him as he made his way back to bed, keen on finding out who that boy had been._

"That had been the first and last time I had ever seen his eyes. He won't look anyone in the eye… except Sora apparently. I don't know if it's fear or something else but…" The blonde paused, turning to continue his trek down the hall, expecting Leon to follow him, "But I think with Sora's help he'll be able to conquer whatever demons are plaguing him." He glanced over his shoulder and gave the brunette a smile.

0o0o0o0

Sora decided to take Riku back to his room before supper, avoiding the rush of people clogging the hallway as they all tried to get to the cafeteria at the same time. The smaller teen placed Riku next to the wall so nobody would be passing directly by him and it seemed that it had eased the boy's nerves just a bit. The two were halfway to the room when a shout caught Sora's attention; it was a very familiar shout and the brunette flinched, waiting for the customary tackle. Blue eyes reappeared when nothing happened and looking up found Axel staring, though it wasn't Sora the red head was fixated on but the silver haired mystery beside him.

"Hmm… so this is the elusive Riku." Vivid green orbs traced the youth's figure, well everything that wasn't hidden behind Sora which was becoming more as he continued to shift further and further away from Axel.

The brown haired boy's attention was drawn away as Roxas approached with a smile and a wave, "Hey Sora."

He gave the blonde his best grin in return, "Hey."

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" A pause, "Come on, acknowledge me at least… a nod or _something_!"

The hand still entwined with Sora's tightened, cerulean spheres glancing over to see an unfamiliar hand reaching toward the silverette and swiftly brushing it away the younger orderly stood between the red head and Riku, "Knock it off Axel! It took a lot of courage for Riku to be out here. He's scared enough as it is, don't make it worse."

"Okay, jeez. Don't have a cow." Axel muttered, rubbing at his swatted hand.

"So…" Roxas started, seeing the tension build, "Sora, are you still coming to my place after shift? I got some wicked cool new video games."

"Awesome! For sure! It's been a while since I kicked anyone's ass at video games." In his excitement, the brunette's hands lifted in front of him, bringing the one in his with it and pretended to button mash on a controller.

The red head snorted, "Probably because you suck."

Roxas laughed at the pathetic looking pout Sora aimed at the taller male. Riku, who was standing behind the brunette and listening, glared heavily at the floor. He had decided that he wasn't going to like this Axel person very much, not that he was starting to like anyone besides Sora anyway.

"Actually," The smaller boy shifted uncomfortably, "Since Squall started university I haven't really had anyone to play against."

A blonde brow rose in confusion, "Really? Why not?"

"Well in high school, I didn't have much time outside of school to hang out with people because I worked all the time." The platinum haired patient's hand tightened around his own in a comforting gesture and squeezing back, smiled slightly.

"Man that sucks."

"Yeah but I better get Riku back to his room before everyone starts heading to supper." Giving another grin and a wave, Sora led Riku back to his room.

Once they made it to Riku's room, the brunette sighed in relief, it had been a little stressful trying to keep his patient feeling safe with all the activity that goes on in the hallways, at least it wasn't a very long walk. Sora was pulled from his thoughts as a hand touched his cheek and a pair of lips met with his own. Shocked for a second before instincts kicked in and his mouth moved against the others. The kiss was only slightly more intense than their first one but still chaste for the most part.

Riku pulled away first, his tongue darting out to lick his lips, "Thank you."

Sky blue looked confused for a while before realizing what he was being thanked for and smiling brightly, "Your welcome. I knew you'd enjoy the garden."

* * *

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed :) Sorry for making some of you wait so long, I was trying to write fast, I really was but life gets in the way sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it, right? Right.

Reviews make me smile so don't forget ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Hello... Is anyone there? I have a new chapter *waves chapter around*

I'm sorry I'm sorry _so_ sorry! I know it's been years since this story has seen the light of day but I finally manged to finish this long overdue chapter. If there's anyone left out there who's still up to reading this, I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

Roxas was already waiting for him when he arrived in the staff room. Sora made his way to his locker quickly pulling the smock over his head and grabbing everything he needed before shutting the door. Rotating to face his coworker again, Sora grinned, "I'm ready whenever you are."

The blonde jumped out of his chair, a large smile on his face, "Great! Let's go." The pair heading out towards the parking lot and Roxas' car.

The drive was uneventful and quite boring though the house they stopped in front of was anything but. Roxas lived in a mansion… well Sora knew deep down that he was exaggerating just a little bit. It was a huge two story house with an attached two car garage which honestly seemed like a mansion in contrast to his own dingy apartment he shared with Squall. The outside of the house was made up of large stones, giving it a beautiful medieval look. The front yard was a considerable size as well; the grass kept neat and on either side of the surprisingly small porch was an array of colored tulips. The front door seemed larger than necessary to Sora as he followed the blonde into the house.

The inside was just as extravagant as the outside. There was a small foyer, an almost semi circle, that had a closet and shoe rack. It was slightly sunken compared to the rest of the house with two steps into the living room, wood railings wrapped around the area leaving only the stairs open. The main room was beautiful with cream colored walls and obnoxiously white carpeting, not a stain to be seen. Against the far wall was a tan leather couch which was pushed in front of the portrait window, two matching chairs were beside it, both in that tanned leather and the matching love seat across from the couch. There were several fancy wood end tables in the room, all darkly stained, one on either side of the couch and one between the love seat and one of the chairs. There was a fire place in the wall, all the furniture surrounded it, the mantle made of dark mahogany with tactfully placed decorations on it and a large family portrait hanging just above it. Behind the love seat was the dining table, bigger than any table the dark haired teen had ever seen, with eight chairs fitted comfortably around it. On the other side of the table was a half wall just a bit longer than the table itself, leaving a doorway at the end which led into the kitchen.

The half wall also acted as a counter with a row of cabinets underneath. There was an island in the middle of the room with a stove, fridge, dishwasher and a double sink set up neatly around the edge with more counter space and cabinets. Above the sinks was a window with bright yellow curtains and what you could see of the wall was painted a pale blue. Beside the fridge was a set of double doors, leading out into the backyard, a nicely sized porch could be seen through the door's window. There was a pantry on the wall closest to the entryway, beside it was a stairwell leading down, obviously to the basement. Turning away from the kitchen, Sora saw a second set of stairs, this one next to the foyer railing, leading up and those were what the two teens took.

The upstairs was spacious too, immediately on the right once you reach the top was a door. The brunet wasn't sure whose room it was since the door was closed and he knew it wasn't Roxas' as he passed right by it. Wrapping around another railing, to keep people like Sora from falling down the stairs, were more doors, four to be exact. There was one in the middle that was open, which turned out to be only a bathroom. The first two were passed by, leaving the last door at the end of the hall to be Roxas' room.

Sora almost didn't want to see the boy's bedroom, sure to be jealous of the extravagance of it. To his surprise, the room was quite plain and very boyish though the large TV hanging on the same wall did say otherwise. Across from the TV was a bed, set sideways so two people could sit comfortably on it while watching or playing games. There was, of course, a bedside table next to the bed with a lamp, alarm clock and a few other miscellaneous items strewn atop it. Under the TV was a cabinet type bench, resting on top were a variety of systems and beneath them, behind a couple doors were a multitude of games, from fighting to shooter to RPG. Sora was sure he'd died and gone to gamer heaven. On the other wall was a closet, probably a walk in, he figured, even though the sliding door was closed. Next to that was a tall bookshelf, sparsely inhabited by a few books and decorations. At the foot of the bed was a window, black curtains to keep the sun out though at the moment were pulled open, allowing for a great view of the neighborhood.

While Roxas was messing with the TV and game systems, the blue eyed brunet made his way to the window, wanting to see the view. All the houses in this area were overdone in Sora's opinion, too big and gaudy though maybe that was just his jealousy talking. His eyes scanned the scenery, taking in every large lawn and driveway, stopping on a family out in their front yard. The two children, a boy and a girl, who looked fairly young, were playing in the sprinkler. The boy was a bit taller, giving the impression that he was older, had spiky brown hair, much like Sora's own, and brown eyes. The girl was petite with long flowing blonde hair and dark navy eyes. The parents were sitting in lawn chairs at the edge of the grass, the mother tanning while the father was reading a book. The woman was skinny and had her eyes closed with the same hair as her daughter, but the teen couldn't get a look at the man's face though as it was hidden behind his book.

Sora was about to turn away from the window when he saw the little boy fall, obviously hurting himself as he could hear the boy's screaming from in the room. The mother opened her dark brown eyes, looking at her husband as he put the book down to go gather the boy up and make sure he was fine. Cerulean spheres went wide as he watched the man, the graying brown spikes, the navy eyes, there was no way Sora could ever forget that face.

He was frozen in place, eyes locked onto that man, _how could he?_ Sora felt on the verge of tears. The dark haired boy almost couldn't believe it was him but there he was with a new family, a new wife, new _children_. He had replaced them; their father had abandoned them only to replace them with a new family.

"Sora?" The blonde's voice caused his head to whip around, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He forced a laugh, choking slightly as he tried desperately to cover a sob.

"I don't know, maybe it's the fact that you look like you're about to burst into tears," Roxas stood from crouching over the game systems and walked the length of the room to the window. Sapphire pools scanned the area, "What were you looking at? Those people… was it that family?"

Sora waved a hand, moving away from the window, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Let's just get started, I'm here to play video games after all!" He faked another laugh, attempting to change the subject.

The brunet was grabbed by the arm and hauled back until he was standing face to face with his coworker, "No really, what's wrong?" Using the hand that wasn't holding Sora in place, Roxas reached up and wiped away the lone tear as it slowly made its way down his cheek. When the younger boy didn't answer, he prodded slightly, "Come on man, I know you don't just start crying for no reason. What's with the tears?"

Spiky brown locks bounced when Sora gestured toward the window, "That man… he-he's… he's my father." With those words, glistening cerulean spheres hid behind dark bangs while trying to fight off the burning behind his eyes.

Roxas nearly fell over at the statement, using his grip on the brunet to keep him standing. His own blue orbs glancing back out the window to stare at the teen's supposed father, "Oh… why are you so upset though? Didn't you know he lived around here?"

Sora only shook his head.

The blonde's sapphire pools eyed the other before continuing, "But don't you visit him at all?"

Dark chocolate strands swayed with a second negative response.

"Your mom got sole custody?! Wow, that's rare now a day's…" He trailed off as the brunet's head shot up, a pained look etched onto his features, "What? What'd I say?"

Sora reached up, hand fisting into his shirt as he realized his mother's necklace was no longer there. Tears continued to gather at the corners of his eyes and fighting them off was becoming increasingly hard. The brunet gave a tiny sniffle, resigned to telling Roxas the whole story.

"My mother is dead… all because of me…" The wide eyed look the blonde gave him was enough for the tears to slip down his cheeks and he choked on a sob as he tried to keep talking.

By the time Sora had finished, both boys had collapsed to the floor, the brunet crying softly onto his friend's shoulder. Roxas held him close, his own blue spheres threatening to leak as well as he glared at the wall. The blonde was furious, how could someone say those things to a child or worse to their own son?! He couldn't even begin to image the pain Sora had and was still going through but one thing was for sure, Roxas wasn't going to stand for the mental abuse that bastard was putting one of his best friends through.

"Sora," He paused until those cerulean orbs were focused on him, "Sora, I want you to do something for me… forget everything that man ever said to you."

"But Rox-"

The blonde pulled the other back, gripping his shoulders tightly, "No buts! Quit torturing yourself for that bastard! What about your mom, huh? How do you think she would feel?!"

Confusion quickly covered the spiky haired male's face, "I don't understand…"

"Your mom loved you, Sora. Do you think she'd be happy knowing you blame yourself? No mother wants that, she'd want you to think about her with happy memories. So you shouldn't let _anyone_ wreck the memory of your mom, especially when you have so few to begin with." Roxas smiled gently at his speechless friend before being bowled over in a giant hug.

The dark haired boy didn't say anything, only smiled; it was slightly shaky but genuine none the less. The blonde's words really touched him, making him realize his mistake and the brunet would make sure he never made it again. He was suddenly glad that Squall wasn't here, wasn't aware of this, knowing that his big brother would march right over there and 'have words' with him, which was Squall speak for 'kick the living shit out of the bastard'. He didn't want that, he didn't even care anymore because Sora was _finally_ done with waiting for that man's love.

0o0o0o0

"Aww man, I can't believe I lost!" Sora was sprawled across his brother's bedroom floor, lying on his back, completely star fished. He had gotten home from Roxas' about an hour ago, tired and a little cranky about getting his ass handed to him in every fighting game the other boy owned.

Squall was lying in bed, propped up against the headboard, reading. The younger heard a slight grunt, "Well, I'm not surprised."

"Hey!" Cerulean orbs glared but all they received in return was a smug looking smirk. Sora jumped up from his place on the floor, pouncing on his brother, "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Their position was quickly reversed as the elder brunet pinned the younger to the bed, tickling along Sora's sides and stomach. Squealing laughter filled the room, the ticklee trying fruitlessly to get free while the tickler laughed victoriously.

"Mercy... Mercy... I-I give up!" Tears were leaking from blue eyes as the horrible fingers left him alone to slowly recover.

Squall was leaning back on his heels, watching the younger boy when something caught his attention... well it was more the lack of something. Reaching a hand out, he pulled the teen's collar down, "Where's your necklace?" The uncomfortable silence was more than enough to put him on edge, "Sora, where's your necklace?"

The tone was harsh and the younger winced, "Well... I umm..."

"If you lost mother's necklace..." The smaller brunet could easily hear the unspoken threat.

"I didn't lose it! I know exactly where it is," A perfect eyebrow rise was his only response and he knew very well what it meant, "I kinda... gave it to Riku." It was mumbled, but he knew his brother had heard.

"What?! You _gave away_ mother's necklace!"

"I didn't give it to him! I'm just letting him hold onto it for a while," Sora saw the look in steel colored eyes and continued before the yelling could start, "It's just... he was really upset after what happened and he kinda freaked when I tried to leave his room, so... I told him it was from mom and that I'd be back for it."

Squall's glare didn't soften, "And when do you plan on getting it back?"

"I just have to prove I won't leave again." The dark haired boy shrugged, making it sound much easier than it was really going to be.

"Sora," That tone was more warning then threatening but still not what he wanted to hear, "You can't get so attached. What will happen if Riku relapses? How do you think you're going to get your necklace back then?-"

"Riku won't relapse."

Gun metal grey glared at being interrupted, "He'll have to be held down so we can take it from him. Do you want that?"

"Of course not!"

Large hands landed on the younger brother's shoulders, "I'm not trying to upset you Sora, but he's unstable and just because you've gotten through to him now, doesn't mean that it'll stay that way."

"I'm telling you, nothing like that will happen." The blue eyed brunet pulled away from the hands, making his way to the door.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I won't let it happen! As long as I'm there he won't relapse!"

Squall knew that determined look in his brother's eyes and he knew no amount of arguing was going to change his mind, "Alright have it your way," Grey spheres observed the other as he left the room, "Just try not to get yourself hurt."

0o0o0o0

_He could feel them… the warm hands as they travelled down his torso, the wet mouth placing kisses along his neck and shoulder, the tight heat surrounding his most sensitive area, moving and jerking._

_He could hear them… the soft pants, incoherent mumbles, the chanting of his name, the moaning, the groaning and finally the cry of ecstasy._

With a thump and a groan, Sora sat up. As sky blue eyes took in his surroundings, he sadly realized, not only was it a dream but he had ended up on the floor. The worst of it was the mess sticking to his boxers and oozing down his skin. Getting to his feet and checking the time, figuring he had another half hour before Squall even came to wake him for work, the brunet heaved a pathetic sounding sigh before slipping out of his room and into the bathroom across the way.

Sora grabbed a towel from the linen closet as he shifted about the tiny space, turning the tap and waiting for the water to warm up. Stripping himself of his boxers, the teen tossed them into the hamper in the corner before climbing into the shower with a contented sigh. It had been a good thing Squall hadn't caught him in the middle of his dream because he would've surely died of embarrassment, knowing for certain what name was ripped from his throat in his rapture. Sadly, Sora had a feeling it was going to be a very long day.

0o0o0o0

The sun was at the perfect angle in the sky, shining through the window as it lit the room and the solitary figure curled comfortably against the headboard. The light created a shimmering halo amongst the silver locks at the crown of his head. With sketchbook resting in his lap, Riku planned to draw until his favorite person came to visit him. The thought of Sora brought his free hand (the one not holding the pencil), up to clutch at the pendent around his neck. He still didn't understand why the brunet had abandoned him, was it something Riku had done or had he been forced? But that didn't make any sense either, the boy had apologized over and over again, claiming it was his fault. The points of the crown dug painfully into pale flesh until he finally released it.

His thoughts scattered suddenly, eyes dropping to look at his lap, he'd been staring at the ceiling as the door opened, slamming violently into the wall. Riku knew it couldn't be Sora, sure the brunet had done it the once but since then went back to knocking first. He waited for them to speak, to let him know who was there. It was silent for a long moment before a deep chuckle filled the air, the silverette tensing at the sound and knew who had come to visit him.

0o0o0o0

It was a bright sunny day as Axel exited the entertainment room, another place checked off his imaginary list. It had been most of the morning and he still hadn't seen his little blonde orderly. The red head turned the corner, heading back toward his room when inspiration struck, _He _must _be there!_ His steps didn't quicken as he walked hurriedly down the hall.

Axel stopped short at his destination, vibrant jade looking suspiciously at the open door, a door that he _knew_ was _never_ left open and the voice that floated out to greet him had those eyes narrowed dangerously.

0o0o0o0

The clomp of booted feet sounded through the silent room and Riku felt the urge to just run. He didn't want to fight, certainly didn't want to be _beaten_ either, never had in the first place. It was Seifer who had attacked him, who came after him, who instigated _everything_ between them and even though Riku never fought back, verbally or otherwise, the blonde took it all not as submission but defiance.

Quiet breathing filled the hush around them as the beanie wearing teen came to a stop at the side of the bed. Turquoise irises disappeared as lids clenched tightly shut, his body tense when a hand gripped the front of his shirt and yanked up.

"Ah Freak, I don't know about you but my morning just got a hell of a lot better," The smirk was clear in his voice, even though Riku kept his eyes firmly closed, "What's the matter? Am I not good enough for you to look at?!"

The aqua eyed boy bowed his head, moonlit colored tresses draping the pale face. He was somewhat ready for the sharp pain that assaulted his abdomen though it did nothing to stop the air from leaving him in an anguished grunt. Riku bent over more, curling into the pain and trying to protect himself from any further attack, the hand in his shirt the only thing stopping him from forming the fetal position.

Seifer finally hauled the teen off the bed though he was practically holding his entire weight. The movement caused an unfamiliar jingle to sound in the room and cool metal to brush against his hand. Electric blue almost glowed with glee as he spotted the new piece of jewelry dangling around the younger boy's neck.

"A present for me," The fake gratitude dripped from every word, "You shouldn't have." But as Seifer wrapped his fingers around the pendent, a second hand shot up, shoving his aside and gripping the silver crown tightly. The blonde was only shocked for a moment before growling low in his throat, "You're askin' for it! And that little shit of an orderly isn't here to protect you this time!"

The manic laugh that rang through the room had Riku tensing all over again though he knew it'd hurt more that way. The silverette felt the other shift, knew a fist was being raised and clenching the pendent close to his chest, readied himself.

A cough sounded from the doorway, the blonde head jerking to face the intruder, harshly shaking Riku in the process.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The darkly dressed figure stood, leaning against the doorframe. His flaming red hair and dancing green eyes made identifying the intruder almost too easy.

Seifer snarled, "Beat it Pyro! I ain't got nothing against you and this is none of your business!" He went to turn his attention back to his prey, expecting the other to follow the command but the snort of laughter kept him from doing so.

"You know I'd _love_ to stay out it but there's this little brown haired cutie who'd be very upset if I did. And then, of course, my Roxy would be mad that his friend's upset and I certainly don't want Roxy angry with me. So you see..." Axel's hand had started waving absentmindedly at some point during his little speech, he'd pushed off the wall and entered the room more fully, "I'd love nothing more than to stay out of it but I can't."

Riku flinched at the deep growl coming from his tormentor but instead of the strike he was preparing for, was tossed effortlessly into the wall behind them, across from the bed. A near silent whimper escaped parted lips as the aqua eyed teen slid the rest of the way down the wall, curling into a ball on his side against the cool tiles and wrapped his arms firmly around his abused abdomen. He watched through silvery bangs as Seifer forced his way past the red head, into the hallway while Axel followed looking almost too eager.

0o0o0o0

Sora released an explosive sigh as he and his blonde coworker left their boss' office, said blonde dragging his feet beside him. The 'creative genius meeting' as Aerith had put it, had taken almost the entire morning, leaving both orderlies feeling drained. The brunet smiled to himself at the knowledge of exactly where he was going to spend the rest of his afternoon.

A loud ruckus had two pairs of surprised blue meeting before both boys bolted around the corner. The sight that greeted them wasn't what either were expecting, a large crowd circled two bodies, one wearing a black beanie and the other with suspiciously bright red hair.

"Sora!" The familiar pink blur crashed into the brunet's side and latched tightly to his arm, "I'm so glad I found you!"

Cerulean spheres glared as Roxas managed to cover his own sniggers with a cough, "So... uh Kairi, mind filling us in?" As he spoke, his blonde head jerked in the direction of the crowd.

"Well I've only been here a few minutes but I heard from Namine that she heard that Seifer was in Riku's room but Axel showed up and they started fighting in the hall." The red head finished with a gasp as Sora wrenched his arm from her grip, not having noticed his tensing at the mention of Riku.

Fiery blue eyes stared her down, "Is Riku okay? Did anyone check on him?" And when he didn't receive an immediate answer, swept past her, pushing his way through the crowd.

Kairi watched his brown spikes disappear into the mass of people before turning to glare at the laughing blonde, "What the hell is so funny?!"

Roxas sneered at her, "You. I'm laughing because you _actually_ think you have a chance with Sora," He moved away from her, heading slowly toward his patient, "So just stop trying, you'll never compare to Riku in his eyes... or heart." He didn't wait to hear her reply, instead going to break up the fight.

0o0o0o0

_Be okay, please be okay... _Tan fingers gripped the door frame to stop his frantic slide across the linoleum. Cerulean orbs searched the bland room for that familiar splash of sliver, finding it curled up in a corner.

_Riku... _"Riku!" Hurrying across the small space to the boy's side, Sora dropped to his knees, "Are you okay?"

The teal eyed teen was helped into a sitting position, a slight groan slipping free as his body protested the movement. Even through his bangs, Riku could see the fearful concern in the bright cobalt watching him intently. While gentle fingers prodded him, the silver haired male gave a shaky smile, "Okay."

Brushing off the obvious attempt at reassurance, the brunet continued checking for any serious injuries, "Where does it hurt? Does anything feel broken?"

"I..." Riku whispered again, taking those roaming hands in his. Shocked azure stared as he wrapped himself in Sora's warm arms, collapsing against him, "Better."

Sora smiled softly at the admission, "Good. Riku... what happened exactly?"

"Take Sora necklace," Pale fingers wrapped tightly around the hidden pendent, "Promise, keep safe."

Pulling his patient closer, the brunet saw the determination swirling in pools of aquamarine. He was unsure if his whispered 'Thank you' was heard but the soft lips against his neck was answer enough, "Riku, I promise this won't happen again. I'll stay by your side and keep you safe."

Slivery strands brushed Sora's neck and cheek as Riku pushed back enough to see the other's face, cerulean spheres met teal for an instant before disappearing behind fluttery lids. Lips touched feather light, drew back briefly and came together again, firmer and more certain than before. The kisses were short and simple, ending quickly as Riku slowly fell asleep, curled against his most important person.

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Hopefully this time around it won't take me two years to update *hides behind hands in shame*

Anyway, reviews always make me smile and I love hearing from everyone :3


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